A Golden Opportunity - Sentience
by Reika-Hell-Flower
Summary: We were made to keep children happy. Nothing made us happier than to see them smile and laugh. We would do anything to make them happy. Anything… even things we don't want to do. We aren't monsters. We don't want to hurt people. But this is what the children want…
1. Chapter 1 - Joy

**Disclaimer: I do not own "Five Nights at Freddy's" or its characters.**

 **[A/N - Hello there :D As promised, here it is, a flashback arc told from the POV of the animatronics. It takes place around the 70's, before the company started having problems and before all the horrible, horrible events that took place there. Does not include Fredbear's Family Diner, that will be in another arc :3]**

* * *

"… are… active…?"

 _Who on earth is talking so loudly? Help me regain my vision this instant!_

"… just… minute…"

 _Hey… why is everything so dark? I can't see! I can't see!_

"… light… on…"

 _Where am I? Someone turn on the lights, geez!_

"… should… ready… now…"

 _What is going on? Yarr, I can't see a damn thing… … Why did I say 'yarr'?_

"And… there!"

Everything became clear. There was a bright light shining from a window somewhere, and two blurry figures right in front of them.

Four animatronics blinked, shielding their eyes from the light until their robotic eyes adjusted to it. The blurry images became clearer. One was a bulky man with a round and kind face. The other was a tall girl with a ponytail and a wrench in her hand. Who were they?

One of the robots, a brown bear, frowned and looked at his hand. It was a massive hand. He then reached for his head, and found a black top hat. He twirled it in his fingers, and then checked his neck, to find a black bowtie. Quite the proper attire, he should say.

He glanced to his right to see a very confused purple bunny. The bunny also had a bowtie, though his was red, to match his eyes. The bunny blinked and touched his head, squeaking once he found his tall ears.

"What are these?" he asked, frantically. He had a childish voice, and it was hard to tell if it sounded male or female. "What are – what is that?!" He pointed dramatically at a guitar that was next to him.

"Stop yelling, calm down," requested a high-pitched female voice from the bear's left. It belonged to a yellow chicken, who was now looking unimpressed at the bib she had around her neck. It said "Let's Eat!" in big letters. "Why am I wearing this…?"

"Yarr!" said a husky male voice. A reddish fox emerged from the bunny's right, looking at his hook with interest. He had an eye-patch covering his right eye. "What is this?" He then noticed the other robots. "Ahoy, lads and lass! Would any of ye know where we are?"

"I would like to find that out myself, in fact," the bear replied calmly, surprised at the sound of his deep voice. He turned to the two humans standing in front of them, just in time to see the girl smile at them before leaving.

"Good morning," greeted the bulky man. "Wow, it's amazing to see you guys active for the first time! Now tell me, do you know your names?"

The bear nodded promptly. "I do, good sir. My name is Freddy Fazbear, at your service." He took out his top hat and took a small bow.

The chicken tilted her head with a raised eyebrow. "Hum… I'm Chica I think…" She didn't look too happy about it.

The bunny stopped freaking over the unknown object lying next to him to stare at the bulky man with wide eyes. "Bonnie," he said, as if it was the biggest reveal in history. "My name's Bonnie…!"

The fox grinned. "I be Foxy the Pirate, lad. What is yer name?"

"My name is Francis Anderson," said the man, nodding pleased. "I'm the owner of this place. Your home."

The robots looked around them. They were on a stage that overlooked a wide area filled with tables and chairs, decorated with stars and sparkles.

"Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. This is a place for children to have fun and be happy. That will be your job – to make children happy," Francis explained, punctuating every word of the last sentence, to make sure the robots did not miss its importance.

The robots knew this of course. Along with their names, the only other things they knew were that they were not supposed to leave the pizzeria and they had to make sure children were happy and safe. Whatever those "children" were…

"So where are those 'children'?" Bonnie asked eagerly. "I want to meet them!"

Francis chuckled. "They won't be around yet, Bonnie. We are still making preparations to ensure everything is ready and safe for them. For now, you must learn your roles and how to interact with our customers."

"And you are going to teach us, I presume?" Freddy asked politely.

"I will tell you your roles, yes, but you will have your lessons on how to conduct yourselves in the presence of customers with someone else," he clarified. "Our head of security has been very eager to meet you guys, and I'm sure you'll all get along just fine."

Chica raised her hand. "I have a question."

Francis smiled. "Go ahead."

The robotic chicken pointed at her bib. "Why am I wearing this?"

"Well, aspects of design were not up to me, I'm afraid," the man confessed. "But it relates to your role here. You are Chica the Chicken, the one in charge of, as far as the children know, making all the pizza and cupcakes."

At the words "pizza" and "cupcakes" her eyes brightened. She somehow knew what those things were – they were food, and she knew how to make them! "I can cook?" She sounded much more excited now. "I can _actually_ cook?"

"I believe the basics of cooking were installed in your programming, yes," Francis confirmed. "But you won't be actually cooking for the children during your performance. Unless you want to, of course."

The man then turned to Bonnie, who was again staring at the guitar as if it was a predator ready to pounce. "Bonnie," he called, making the bunny jump slightly. "You are the guitarist of the band. And that is your guitar." He pointed at the dreaded object.

Bonnie's eyes widened. "That thing is _mine_? What am I supposed to do with it?"

Francis grinned at the robot's irrational fear. "Play it, of course. Don't worry, as with Chica, the basics of guitar-playing were installed in your programming. You will know what to do. Go ahead, pick it up, I promise you it won't bite."

Bonnie stared apprehensively at the guitar and then walked up to it very carefully. He poked it and jumped back, afraid it would attack him, but nothing happened. Slowly, he picked it up and touched the strings. It made a pleasant note. Hearing the sound seemed to have a soothing effect on the bunny, who no longer seemed afraid. Just as Francis had said, he somehow knew how to play it. He played a few notes to make a cheerful-sounding song.

The manager of the pizzeria nodded, smiling and then turned to the bear, who was patiently waiting for his role to be explained to him. "And you, Freddy Fazbear. The pizzeria was named after you, because you are the leader of the band. You are the lead singer and the one responsible for keeping the other robots in check."

Freddy smiled. So he was the leader. He liked the sound of that. He would do his best and nothing less than that to ensure his fellow animatronics would conduct themselves properly and keep the children satisfied.

"What about me, lad?" Foxy asked, pointing at himself with his hook. "And why do I have this in me hand?"

Francis turned to him. "You have your own show to run, Foxy. You are a pirate captain, looking for a new crew. And the children are all your potential maties. You, more than any of the other robots, have to watch over the children. Kids love pirates, you see."

Foxy felt extremely happy at hearing that. "Yarr! I like my job!"

Francis chuckled. "I'm glad you do. As for that 'thing' you have in your hand, it's a hook. A lot of pirates have it, same for that eye-patch. Be careful with it, though. It could hurt the children." He sighed. "I don't know if it was a good idea to have you designed with that thing, but she was pretty insistent…"

"Don't ye worry, lad, I'll be careful!" Foxy assured. "I will never hurt a child."

"Yes, well, now that you are properly introduced to your jobs, you can go ahead and take a look around the pizzeria, get to know the place and the staff while you're at it," the man said, walking down the stage. "Feel free to ask them anything, they won't mind. I will go call our head of security so he can start filling you in on the rules."

The robots nodded in unison. Once Francis was out of sight, Bonnie started bouncing excitedly. "This is so cool! I'm a guitarist!"

"You were terrified of that 'guitar' thing just a second ago…" Chica reminded, raising an eyebrow. "I wonder where the kitchen is…" She then blinked. "And I somehow know what a 'kitchen' is…"

Freddy cleared his throat, deciding this would be a good time as any to start practicing his role as the leader. "Well, my friends, you heard Mr. Anderson. We have to go introduce ourselves properly to the remaining staff. No need to remind you, that it is _vital_ that we make a good first impression, and that we do not make them feel they are, in any way, inferior to us. Humility is of utmost importance in the work place…"

His speech was interrupted by loud sounds of metallic footsteps rushing down the stage. Freddy blinked, and looked around to find he had been left alone. The other robots were already racing each other out the dining area to explore.

"First one to find Mr. Head of Security is the winner!"

"The kitchen better be spotless when I get there -"

"Where is me ship? Out the way, lad!"

"Wow Foxy you're fast! H-hey no way now you're winning!"

"Hey don't push me! And watch where you point that thing!"

Freddy sighed. Being a leader was proving to be harder than he anticipated…

* * *

Chica blinked, frowned and looked around her. Wherever she was, it was _not_ the kitchen.

She had somehow ended up in a hallway with two doors. One had the figure of what she could only assume was supposed to represent a person, only with a perfectly circular head and square body. The other one was similar, except the lower half of the body was a triangle, for some odd reason. Chica was still confused as to how she knew what all of the words she thought and said meant, but then assumed they were part of her "programming". Whatever that was.

She took a peek inside the rooms the doors led to, and only found some odd pieces of furniture of a crystalline white. Then, in her mind, the word "toilet" popped up.

"Uh. Must be the name of that thing…" she muttered.

The chicken looked around the hallway again. There was a door at the end of the hall, north. But once she tried to walk towards it, the door disappeared, being replaced by a wall.

"What the – where did the door go?"

She took one step back. There was the door. One step further. No more door – only a wall. She repeated the procedure three times to make sure she was not seeing things. The same thing happened over and over, until she finally got convinced that whatever it was that was happening, it was supposed to. She shrugged.

" _Oh well,"_ she thought. _"I'll just ask this 'head of security' person what is up with that…"_

* * *

Foxy looked all around him in awe. He had just landed in Heaven, from the looks of it. He had found himself in front of some purple curtains, and once he had held them apart, he saw the most beautiful room he had ever seen. It had a stage, in the shape of a pirate ship, and some wooden treasure chests scattered around the corners. Foxy opened said chests, and found them filled with golden coins.

"Ah-ha! Me treasure! Me maties will be happy," he said merrily.

"Hey."

Foxy turned around. There was someone else about to enter in the same division as him, holding the curtains apart. "You must be Foxy the Pirate." His voice made him sound confident and charismatic.

"Right ye are, lad. Who might ye be?" the animatronic asked, squinting. There wasn't a lot of light in that room, so it was hard to make out the person's features.

The man reached for a button on the wall, and the place was immediately illuminated. Now Foxy could see the man had raven hair and dark eyes. He made a small smile at the sight of the red fox. "I'm Mattheus O'Vancey. Matt for short," he said. "Just got hired as the night guard, so I guess we won't be seeing much of each other."

"What does a night guard do, lad?" Foxy wanted to know, watching as Matt glanced at the treasure chests with apparent interest. He took a while to answer before looking at the animatronic with a glint in his eyes.

"To make sure no one breaks in. Vandals, and the works," Matt explained. "You guys are some pretty cutting edge technology, so there might be someone around there interested in tearing you up to sell your parts."

He made the explanation sound casual, but that last part made Foxy feel worried. "Tear us up?"

Matt grinned. "Don't worry. I won't let anyone get their hands on you as long as I'm around." He then pointed at the ship-shaped stage. "Nice place. The kids are going to have a lot of fun here."

Foxy's worry dissipated, giving place to joy. "Ye think?"

"Sure," Matt assured, nodding. "Kids love pirates. I admit I'm also a fan. Well, I'll be seeing you. I got your back, Foxter." Matt saluted the robot and walked out.

The robotic fox walked out after Matt, watching the night guard stroll across the hallway. He passed by another man, who wore a similar outfit. This other man had blonde hair and brown eyes, and greeted Matt with a pleasant grin and wave. The two seemed to be around the same age, and seemed to be friends.

"Hey Don," said Matt, shaking his friend's hand with a firm grip. "Did you see the robots yet? Foxy is back there at Pirate Cove."

The boy named Don took a quick glance at the purple curtains, from which Foxy was peeking out. Don smiled at the robot. "They're active? Cool, I have to go talk with them."

Foxy grinned. They seemed to like him. And, with a jolt of happiness as Don walked up to him, he found he _liked_ being liked. He couldn't wait to be with the children. Hopefully they will like pirates as much as everyone keeps assuring him.

* * *

Freddy frowned as he stepped inside a dark room. That was strange. It felt as if that room was not a part of the rest of the pizzeria.

Unlike the other rooms he found, this one was dark and gloomy. Depressive. Oppressive. He did not like how those grey walls made him feel. And all of those eyeless masks and empty suits… He could tell they had the same faces as Bonnie and Chica, but had no eyes, which made them seem eerie and disturbing. He could only guess they were there to replace their current faces and body parts in case they were damaged in some manner.

The bear sighed. His leadership role was having a pretty poor start. He had failed to guide the other robots, and had also failed to find them anywhere. He could only trust they were not being a bother to anyone. Especially that Bonnie. He seemed to be pretty excitable, yet nervous. Hopefully he would not find anything that would frighten him.

One last look at the dark room made him realize there was one particular suit that seemed different from all the others. He walked up to it, slumped in a corner, and was shocked to find a bear with an uncanny resemblance to himself. Though, this one was golden, with two black buttons in its chest, right underneath the bow. There was also a red piece of fabric around the top hat. The brown bear frowned as he bent over to watch it more closely. Interesting. Perhaps this was another robot yet to be activated, one that would maybe join them later on in their performance?

"Eek!"

Freddy jumped at the sudden yelp that was heard from behind him. He turned around, spotting a petite girl with auburn hair tied in a braid. She stared at him with wide brown eyes, taking a step back.

Ah. She should be one of the "staff" members Mr. Anderson had mentioned. She seemed scared. He would have to make her feel more comfortable quickly.

"Hello, miss," he started, with a calm and reassuring voice, taking off his top hat in a polite greeting gesture. "My name is Freddy Fazbear. What might your name be?"

Her eyes widened even more, if possible. She looked absolutely horrified. She did, however, manage to speak. "M… Marize… Marize C-Clemont."

Freddy smiled benevolently. "Marize. That is a pretty name," he complimented. "I am truly sorry we met in this dreadful division. It is obviously not helping you make any more comfortable. But I assure you, I do not wish to scare you or hurt you."

He paused, giving the girl enough time to calm down. He entwined his fingers, waiting patiently.

Marize seemed to calm down a bit. At least she didn't seem like she was about to pass out anymore. She took a couple of deep breaths and then nodded. "I… I know… Sorry… I was just… surprised to see you… Y-you're one of the robots that have to entertain the kids, right?"

The bear nodded, happy that the girl didn't look as scared anymore. "Indeed. My fellow band mates must be running around somewhere. You have nothing to fear from them either. As boisterous as they might be, they are friendly and benevolent. Now, what is exactly your job here?"

"Um, I'm the… I'm one of the entertainers… You know… I have to wear that…" She pointed at the yellow bear which sat on the corner of the dark room.

"'Wear'?" Freddy repeated, interested.

Marize nodded. "Yeah… It's specially designed so that it can move around on its own, like you, or be worn as a suit by entertainers. There's another one like it, but I think it's a bunny…"

Freddy only then spotted another golden suit next to the bear. It was indeed a bunny, very similar to Bonnie, but with the same black buttons as the yellow bear.

"Ah yes, I see it. Very interesting. Would you happen to know their names, my dear?" he asked, again smiling benevolently.

Marize managed to smile back, seemingly comfortable with his presence now. "Golden Freddy and Spring Bonnie. At least that's what Mr. Anderson called them…"

* * *

Bonnie spun in 180 degrees to make sure he didn't miss a single detail of the walls and furniture around him. He had ended up back at the dining hall – how, he wasn't completely sure – and it looked even bigger once he was off the stage. None of his friends was there anymore, so they were probably out exploring. The pizzeria was enormous! There was so much to see! He hadn't found a single person there yet, however. Bummer. He wanted to meet everyone quickly so they could become friends.

He rushed back towards the stage, guitar in hand, when he stopped dead in his tracks. He slowly turned his head towards a table, and saw something that made him cringe.

 _Stains._ There were _stains_ on the table. For some reason he could not explain, the mere sight of a dirty table caused his eye to twitch and made him panic. He had to clean that! He had to get rid of that awful stain quickly before his circuits fried. The bunny looked around desperately for a cloth, but couldn't find anything.

"What the -"

Bonnie looked at the entrance of the dining hall. There was someone there. Taller than Mr. Anderson, the man looked at him bewildered. He had hazelnut-colored hair and a badge in his shirt.

"Hi!" Bonnie greeted, waving and smiling cheerfully. Finally, a person! "I'm Bonnie, what's your name?"

The man's bewildered expression morphed into a pleased grin. "Oh, wow… Um, hello, hello! Uh, I'm Phil Grayson, nice to meet you Bonnie," he said, scratching the back of his head. He approached Bonnie with an open hand.

Bonnie looked down at the man's hand. Something in his head told him to shake it. He did so promptly, and perhaps a little more excitedly than what would be required. The man didn't seem to be phased, however, and kept smiling.

"Strong grip you have there," he chuckled. "You might want to restrain yourself with the kids…"

The bunny looked at him in worry. "Oh did I hurt you? I'm so sorry!"

Phil waved his hand dismissively. "No, no, it's okay. Just, um, try and be less _enthusiastic_ with other people, okay? Especially the kids…"

Bonnie nodded. "Okay. Why did you say 'hello' twice?" he wanted to know. "Is that how you're supposed to greet people? Because I just say 'hi' once."

"Verbal tic. It's a habit of mine, heh. So…" He looked at the robot up and down. "Up and walking already, uh? Where are your friends?"

The bunny shrugged. "Around here, somewhere… I'm not sure. Say, Mr. Anderson told us that some 'head of security' person was going to teach us stuff. Do you know where I can find him?"

Phil pointed at himself proudly. "You just did."

Bonnie bounced happily. "Yay! I found him first, I win!" he giggled. Amidst the bouncing, he ended up seeing the stained table again. The bouncing ceased abruptly, and he cringed again. "Eeeek I have to clean it! Ah it's so dirty!"

Phil blinked and raised his eyebrows, confused at the bunny's sudden change of attitude. "Bonnie, what's wrong?"

Bonnie pointed at the table while shielding his eyes, as if the mere sight of it was offensive. "That table! It has _stains_! Why am I freaking out because it has _stains_?!"

Phil blinked again, and then smiled sympathetic. "I didn't know the mechanic was going to program you as an OCD…" he muttered. "But yeah the staff didn't have the time to clean everything yet… Hey, tell you what? Um, how about we help them out a bit? We could start with cleaning this…"

Bonnie nodded vigorously, still shielding his eyes. "That would be nice, yeah."

Phil chuckled and turned around. "I'll go get what we need from the supply closet. Uuh, just stay put, okay?"

The bunny separated his fingers to follow the head of security with his eye. He liked that man. He was nice. Mr. Anderson was nice too. And the other robots too! He was going to be happy in that place.

For sure…

* * *

 **[A/N - I don't know why I keep imagining Freddy to sound like Sean Connery...**

 **Just a little thing, I made Bonnie to be a little obcessive with cleaning and stuff to explain why he shows up in the Supply Closet in the first game... I mean, what else could he be doing there...?]**


	2. Chapter 2 - Curiosity

**Disclaimer: I do not own "Five Nights at Freddy's" or its characters.**

* * *

Left side. Everything clean.

Right side. Clean as well.

Bonnie scanned the furniture with his robotic eyes for any dirt or stain that he might have missed. Then, he sighed happily. Good, everything was neat and clean.

"Ah everything is shiny now…"

Chica shook her head, as she sat on the edge of the stage, her legs rocking back and forth. "Honestly, why are you so paranoid with cleaning? It's not your job to worry about that…"

The bunny shivered. "I can't stand dirt… and stains… I like it when things are clean and shiny," he muttered. "And I don't mind helping with cleaning either."

Freddy nodded. "Well, it is only fair that we, from time to time, offer our services to the remaining staff if they're in a pitch," he declared. "After all, they do their best to ensure that our stay here is comfortable, so the least we can do is help make their jobs easier by providing them with our invaluable assistance."

Chica turned her head on the bear's direction. "… Why do you talk so fancy?"

The brown bear huffed, slightly annoyed. "The correct saying is 'why do you talk _in such an elegant manner_ ', Chica. And to answer your question, it is just the way I like to talk. Part of programming, I suppose."

"Where's Phil?" Bonnie asked suddenly. "He's supposed to teach us stuff…"

The chicken shrugged. "Looking for Foxy, I guess. He shouldn't take much longer."

Within a few minutes, Phil appeared at the entrance of the dining hall, accompanied by the red robotic fox. The robot was, as usual, grinning and dashing ahead of the head of security. It seemed like he was telling him a story of some sort.

"And then – BAM – his ship was blasted way by me cannons. Now his pride and joy lays at the bottom of the sea, and I, Captain Foxy, took hold of his treasures!" he said, dramatically.

"Impressive," Phil chuckled. "It's an honor to have such an amazing pirate here at our pizzeria."

Foxy nudged the man's arm, cheerfully. "And yer a good lad. If you weren't so old, ye'd make a fine pirate."

"Old? I just turned twenty-three!"

"Those two are sure getting along," Chica commented, as both man and robot started laughing. "It's as if we're not even here…"

"Indeed," Freddy grunted. "Mr. Anderson did mention children love pirates, but he failed to mention adults were a fan of their traitorous and criminal ways as well…"

"… Stop using fancy speech…"

Bonnie pouted. He didn't like being ignored. "Hm, Mr. Head of security?" he called, waving his hand.

The man looked at him and then turned to walk towards them. Foxy sprinted ahead of him, standing next to Bonnie. All four animatronics looked at Phil as he cleared his throat.

"Hum, alright then, uh… Right, introductions." He paused for a few seconds. It seemed the head of security got nervous when he had to talk in front of a crowd. Not that four robots were a crowd, but it was enough for him apparently.

"Um, my name is Phil Grayson. Just call me Phil, uhh… So, Mr. Anderson asked me to fill you in on the rules of this place, and all that… First things first, do you know any of the rules already?

Chica raised a hand, as if she was answering a question in school. "Never leave the pizzeria?"

Phil pointed at her, pleased. "That's right, Chica. You can't leave the premises, unless you're accompanied by me or Mr. Anderson. If a costumer asks you to go outside, you can't do it. Anything else?"

Bonnie mimicked Chica, raising his hand as high as he could. "Oh me, me! Hum, keep the children happy!"

"That's not a rule, it's our _job_ ," Chica contradicted. Bonnie's ears dropped slightly.

"It can count as a rule, in a way," Phil said. "After all, above anything, you have to do your best to make the kids happy. But there are some situations in which you can't do what they ask, uhh… like wanting to go to the kitchen by themselves, disobey an order from their parents, and things like that…"

"Alright, so… more rules. You guys can't walk around without your suits. N-not in the areas where costumers go to, anyway. If, for some reason, you have to get something fixed or cleaned and are out of your suits, just stay in the backroom while you wait, okay?"

Bonnie and Foxy nodded eagerly, both committed to memorize everything Phil told them. Chica watched the man interested, still rocking her legs back and forth. Freddy nodded slightly, showing he was listening.

"Another important thing. Injuries." He paused, and pulled up the sleeve of his left arm, showing some scars. "You see these? These are scars from old injuries. Uh, people get injured sometimes, but you guys don't."

"Why not?" Chica asked.

"Because we are merely animatronics," Freddy replied. "By definition, we cannot feel physical pain as we do not possess flesh, bones or skin."

Phil nodded. "Right. If I were to try and pull of your arm – which I _wouldn't_ …" he added quickly as Bonnie made an alarmed expression. "… you would feel it being pulled off, but it wouldn't hurt. You would just be aware that you no longer had your arm."

"And we would get a new one, right?" Bonnie attempted, still looking alarmed.

"Of course," Phil assured. "Me, on the other hand, heh… Uhh, if you tried to pull off my arm, it would hurt, _a lot,_ and I wouldn't be able to get it fixed. I would lose my arm for good."

Bonnie was horrified at the idea, while Chica cringed. "You couldn't get a new one?"

"Nope." Phil said, shaking his head. "Humans don't work like robots. If we lose a limb, it's gone for good. That's the downside of having flesh, skin and bones, instead of an endoskeleton like you guys."

"Ye think the children are going to lose _limbs_ , lad?" Foxy inquired.

"No, of course not! But th-they might get small cuts, or bruises. If they do, uhh, you have to comfort them, and look for a member of the staff to take care of that. Especially if they bleed – uhh, that's when a red liquid comes out of a wound," he explained, noticing Bonnie's and Foxy's confused expressions.

"What is that red liquid? Is it oil?" Chica asked, resting her head in her hands, elbows on her knees.

"No, it's called blood," Phil replied, though he looked slightly uncomfortable. "Uhh, without blood, we don't, uhh, function. We… um, shut down… for good."

"For good? What does that mean?" Bonnie wanted to know, the alarm returning to his face.

Phil looked from one confused expression to another. He didn't seem to want to discuss the matter. "Uhh… well, y-you guys really don't need to know that kind of stuff, uhh… You're not gonna have to deal with it here, I-I'm sure…"

"Phil, I believe I speak for everyone when I say that it is important that we know any casualty that may befall our children, even if it is a sensitive subject. It will only aid us on keeping them safe and healthy, as it is our job," Freddy said, calmly. "I assure you, whatever you say to us, we can handle it."

Chica rolled her eyes. "What he means to say is, _tell us everything now._ "

The head of security sighed. "Yeah… I-I guess you're right… Um… So when I say that we 'shut down', the correct word is, um, 'die'. If we don't have blood, we… die, and that means, we go to sleep and never wake up again… There are other ways to die, but it's not, uhh, important right now…"

"But you never, _ever_ wake up again? You can't be repaired?" Bonnie insisted.

Phil shook his head. "No. Death is permanent… And it happens to every human…"

Foxy's eyes widen. "Even ye, lad?"

The other animatronics shared a look of concern before staring at Phil with worry.

"Even me," he confirmed, with a small smile. "But don't worry about that. I'm still young; I'll be around for a while, heh. Anyway, enough of that!" He clapped his hands, trying to seem cheerful. "Next order of business – unsatisfied costumers…"

* * *

For days, the animatronics continued their classes with Phil. They made a lot of questions, continuing to develop their personalities and showing a lot of curiosity regarding the costumes of "humans" and every detail of their job at the pizzeria.

Bonnie was an ever-energetic presence in the building. He rarely stood still in a place for too long, and was, amongst the animatronics, the most helpful and kind. The bunny was usually bouncing around the pizzeria, saying "hi" to everyone he saw, and constantly asking if anyone needed his help. However, it quickly became apparent that Bonnie was very accident-prone, and sometimes, when he tried to help, he ended up making things worse, followed by him breaking into a nervous wreck. New and unfamiliar things scared him, and he would normally run to Freddy of Phil whenever he found something he had never seen before. It took him three days to believe that the washing machines were _not_ a danger to him.

Chica was much more confident. She didn't fear new things – she was actually very keen on learning and finding out something that she did not know yet. The chicken was usually a friendly and helpful robot, but it was obvious she had quite the temper and sass in her. The moment she stepped into the kitchen and found it a mess, with leftovers and dirty dishes everywhere, she exploded and almost punched one of the cooks. They quickly discovered that she was honest to the point of being harsh, though she rarely meant to actually hurt anyone. Even though she often teased Bonnie, she was obviously very protective of the bunny, as an older sister would towards her sibling. She argued most with Freddy, especially if he went into "fancy-mode", as she called it.

Foxy became quite the story teller in time. He could get very theatrical when telling his "grand pirate tales", but the only ones who actually listened to them through and through were Phil and Bonnie – the bunny would always get fascinated with all the adventures Foxy had supposedly faced, and believed them all. The fox was very cheerful and willing to help, like Bonnie, but unlike him, he was seemingly fearless, always eager to show off his bravery and skill. Like when he attempted to challenge the washing machine that got Bonnie terrified for a fight. He was, however, a bit reckless and quite the prankster.

Freddy, naturally, continued to act as the leader of the group. He was the most laidback of the bunch, always with a polite and patient demeanor. After Phil explained to the robots what "cuss words" were, as to prevent the children from saying them, Freddy developed a hatred for such things and would scold a member of the staff whenever they proffered the "f" or "s" words, amongst others that he simply assumed to be bad words, as he did not know their meaning. It was not unusual for the bear to suddenly appear next to the staff, watching what they were doing and making small corrections to their work thus far – it should be noted though, that he often had no idea what they were actually doing, and was simply acting as if he did.

Asides from knowing how to sing, Chica knew how to cook and Bonnie knew how to play the guitar, all thanks to their programming. They did, however, request to learn how to write after seeing Mr. Anderson write some memos for his employees. Naturally, it was up to Phil to teach them – Freddy learned it quickly, and spent hours working on his handwriting to make it cursive and elegant; Bonnie and Chica struggled with it, eventually succeeding, though they both had a pretty messy handwriting; as for Foxy, he did not manage to learn as he found it hard to write with his left hand (his right hand being unusable due to his hook). He felt pretty upset about it for a while, but felt better after Phil told him that it would be unlikely that they would actually need to write something ever.

The robots quickly grew attached to the staff, especially Phil, to whom they turned to whenever they had a question about something. They didn't see Matt often, but when he visited them during the day, he would usually join Donovan (Don for short), the day guard, on talking with the robots. Donovan Symonds was not as confident as Matt, but was a cheerful and optimistic person, and was constantly bragging about his baby sister, who, as far as he was concerned, was the most beautiful baby the world had ever seen. Marize, after the initial scare with Freddy at the backroom, got used to the robots' presence in a slow and steady pace, but was the one who usually played with Bonnie whenever he asked. Which was often.

Their first show was a huge success. As nervous as they were, they were an instant hit and the children adored them. They took photos, played with them, and even made drawings of them. Mr. Anderson and Phil were proud of how well they did, and the robots couldn't wait for their next show. Every day, dozens of children walked in the building, ecstatic about getting to see Freddy's band perform, and to get to know the great Captain Foxy.

One day, after the pizzeria had been open for half a year, Phil gathered the animatronics.

"Alright, everyone, I have important news."

The animatronics were taking their usual places around the stage, and their faces brightened with interest.

"There is a new robot that will be joining you on your show tomorrow. It should be arriving soon," Phil announced, looking at a sheet of paper he had in his hands. "It's, um, called 'The Puppet' it seems…"

Chica raised an eyebrow. "The ones in charge of naming us aren't very creative, are they?"

Phil chuckled. "The names have to be easy for the kids to memorize, Chica… But, from what I can see, uhh… this 'Puppet' is not sentient like you guys…"

Bonnie tilted his head. "What does 'sentient' mean?"

Freddy cleared his throat, interrupting Phil, who had just opened his mouth to speak. "It means that one has a sense of self, ergo, capable of thinking, feeling and being aware of the things around them."

"Ooooh."

"Yes, like Freddy said, the thing about you guys that makes you special is that you can think on your own, you feel different emotions, etc," Phil added, looking at his paper again. "The 'Puppet' is not like that, uhh… From what I can tell, it's a normal robot that's supposed to be controlled by the staff…"

"Aww so we can't play with him?" Bonnie wailed, disappointed.

"'It'," Phil corrected. "The 'Puppet' has no gender as of now. It's just supposed to be something that gives presents to the kids whenever they win a game or have a birthday party, you know?"

"So how does it look like, this 'Puppet'?" Foxy asked.

Phil walked up to them and turned their back on them, so they could gather around and look at the paper he had in his hands from over his shoulder. Bonnie immediately put his hands on the man's shoulders and stared at the sheet intently.

It showed the photo of a tall and slender robot, colored black and white. It had hollow eyes and red cheeks. There were buttons in its chest, like Golden Freddy and Spring Bonnie.

Freddy frowned, and Bonnie squeezed Phil's shoulders lightly, his ears dropping.

"… That's creepy," Chica muttered, voicing Freddy's and Bonnie's thoughts.

"Yarr it does not look very friendly, lad…" Foxy added, looking at the picture apprehensively.

Phil looked like he agreed with them. "Yeah… The one who designed it was not the same one who designed you, uhh, so that might have something to do with it…"

"Speaking of which, would you happen to know who was the one responsible for our design and creation?" Freddy inquired.

Phil looked at him, slightly surprised. "Why do you want to know?"

The bear shrugged in a manner that was not very characteristic of him, which naturally caught the head of security's attention. "Well, I was just wondering… It is not unnatural that one questions their origins at some point in their, let us say, _life,_ " Freddy started, sounding slightly embarrassed for some reason.

Phil raised an eyebrow. "Right. And you're curious now because…?"

"Don't answer a question with a question," Chica retorted. "Just say it, do you know or not?"

"I actually don't," he admitted. "I know it was a mechanic that is supposedly really talented. A girl, I think. Designed you and programmed you on her own, uhh, which is pretty impressive…"

"Ah, how unfortunate… I would have liked to have met my mother…" Freddy sighed.

Phil stared at Freddy, even more surprised. "Sorry… Your _what?_ "

"My mother," the bear repeated sadly. "Well, _our_ mother." He nodded at the other animatronics. "We saw her briefly the day we were first activated, but she left before we could be properly introduced. If she created us all, then that makes us siblings."

"Great, I'm related to you guys…" Chica said dramatically, though she was obviously joking.

Phil's eyes were darting between Freddy and Chica, completely bewildered, though the robots couldn't fathom why. "I… w-where did you get that from?"

"Get what?" Bonnie asked.

"That idea th-that the mechanic that made you is your mother," Phil said. "I don't think I ever told you anything like that…"

"Oh we just asked the children what 'parents' were," Bonnie clarified, seemingly very happy. "They told us that they're adults that explain them everything and take care of them, give them love and affection."

Foxy nodded. "And the maties also said 'parents' are the adults that made them, though I don't know how a child would be _made_ …"

Obviously deciding to steer away from that dangerous territory, Phil insisted on the original question. "Alright, so that is pretty much what a parent is, but…"

"So…" Freddy started, holding his hands behind his back. "We thought about it, and after analyzing all the facts we came to the conclusion that we know who our mother and father are."

Phil blinked. "Oh… Alright, so you assumed that the mechanic is the mother because she created you… T-that actually makes sense, heh. So who would be the father then?"

Chica pointed at him without saying a word.

The man's eyes widened. He seemed stunned. Then, his stunned expression turned into a smile, as his eyes got very bright. "… So… I'm your dad, uh? Heh… I've always wanted kids, so… Hey, now I have four," he laughed lightly.

Immediately, Bonnie bounced cheerfully and gave Phil a tight side-hug. "Yay! We have the best daddy ever!" he squealed.

Chica jumped off the stage and ceased Phil's other side. "Hey don't hog dad all for yourself!"

"Yarr what am I, the next door neighbor?"

"Now calm down, leave father some place to breathe…"

Phil coughed, as Foxy was now attempting to hug his _neck_. "That would be appreciated…"

The paper containing the Puppet's image laid, forgotten, on the floor, as Phil dropped it once Bonnie hugged him. Amidst the laughter of the robots and Phil's attempts at breathing, a tiny voice snickered, though none of them heard it.


	3. Chapter 3 - Surprise

**Disclaimer: I do not own "Five Nights at Freddy's" or its characters.**

* * *

"Are you ready to party?"

The children cheered, happily, calling out their favorite characters. Freddy smiled. Yet again, they were being a success.

Every performance they conducted followed a similar routine – the band played a couple of songs, then came Foxy's time to interact with the children, a little break for fun and games, and finally back to the finishing concert, where they would, on occasion, oblige to the children's requests to play their favorite songs more than once. The children never got tired of the songs, and always saw each performance as unique and exciting. That was one thing they loved about their audience – they never got enough of them.

The songs all talked about much the same thing – friendship, the importance of sharing and happiness and whatnot – and, despite many requests from the robots, they were not allowed to make their own.

Once the mini-concert was over, the animatronics got off the stage to be closer to their audience. Chica went over to a family that was enjoying their lunch. Freddy directed himself towards Marize, who was just about to approach some children. Bonnie, once he hoped out of the stage, was immediately surrounded by a group of little girls.

"Bonnie, Bonnie, play with us!" they cried.

The animatronic bunny grinned at them. "Sure! Did you bring your dolls?"

The girls all took out their respective dolls and hogged a table for themselves, all pulling the robot along with them. It was yet another routine. Bonnie always played with those little girls until their parents decided it was time for them to go home. He didn't mind playing with their dolls, and he couldn't understand why the boys thought it was a waste of time.

"Look, I have a plush-toy of you!" one of the little girls said, showing the robotic bunny a stuffed rabbit, colored purple.

Bonnie stared at it in amazement. "Whoa, it really is me!" He picked it up and looked at it from every angle possible. "How weird…"

The girls giggled, obviously finding his amazement towards the toy to be funny. Just as he was checking the stuffed Bonnie's guitar, feeling slightly disappointed that it didn't actually play any music, he felt a tap in his shoulder. He looked back to see another little girl smiling at him. He didn't know her – she should be new there.

"Hello!" he greeted, happy to make a new friend. "I'm Bonnie, what's your name?"

The little girl didn't respond. Instead, she started making weird gestures with her hands. Bonnie blinked. What was she doing? Why didn't she speak when he spoke with her?

"Uh…" he started, tilting his head. "I don't understand…"

The girl repeated the gestures more slowly, as if she thought he didn't understood her because she was too fast. Still, the bunny had no idea what she was trying to tell him. And he was starting to get worried. Why didn't she talk? Could she be feeling ill?

"U-um, are you okay? Do… do you need some water?" he stuttered.

She shook her head, now with a slightly annoyed expression. She made some more unknown gestures rapidly, making Bonnie's worry multiply in intensity.

"I-I, uh… DADDY!" he called, desperately, looking around for any sign of the head of security.

As if he was magically summoned by his plea, Phil dashed towards Bonnie, his brow slightly furrowed. "What is it, Bonnie? Is there a problem?"

The girls shared confused expressions, as if they thought it was weird for Bonnie to call Phil "daddy", but said nothing.

"Daddy, this little girl…" the bunny started, his voice shaking. "I-I tried talking to her, but she won't answer… She won't t-talk to me! Is she ill?"

Phil looked at the little girl, who huffed and made some more gestures. Expecting Phil to show worry, Bonnie was surprised to see the head of security making similarly odd gestures as if to answer the girl's. Bonnie looked at Phil apprehensively. Was he starting to get ill too?

"Bonnie, uh, this girl is a mute…" Phil explained, turning to Bonnie. "It means she can't talk. Ever. So she has to communicate with gestures."

"Ohhh," Bonnie exclaimed, feeling relieved. "But I don't understand those gestures, how am I going to understand what she's saying?"

Phil took a notebook from his pocket. "I taught you guys how to read, right? Just, you know, ask her to write down what she wants to say."

Bonnie nodded, taking the notebook and pen. "Okay. Can you teach me the gestures later, daddy? I want to be able to answer her," he requested, looking at Phil expectantly.

He smiled. "Sure, heh, no problem."

"So what was she saying before?" Bonnie wanted to know.

Phil's lips trembled, as if he was trying not to laugh. "She, uh… She wants to know if you're a boy or a girl. Because, you know… the name."

The animatronic bunny pouted, looking at the girl with an expression of annoyance. Ever since he had started interacting with the kids, there were two things he quite quickly realized that managed to get on his nerves – dirt and questions about his gender. According to Phil, he had been programmed to be a male, but received the name Bonnie – usually female – due to its similarity to the word "bunny". It was bad enough he was the only one with no eyebrows (Phil hadn't been able to explain that one…) but now he had children constantly asking him about whether he was male or female. At first, he would just assure them he was male, but after a while the question grew to be frustrating.

" **You got Bonnie annoyed. You get prize."**

Bonnie jumped slightly to the sound of an eerie robotic voice that came from his right. He looked over to see a slender robot, black and white, grinning and holding a present. The bunny's pout turned into a scowl.

"Not funny," he muttered.

" **Depends on the point of view."** It turned to the mute girl. **"Here you go."**

The little girl seized the gift happily, tearing the ribbon right off. Phil frowned at the slender robot. He didn't like the Puppet, much alike Bonnie. The purple animatronic was happy they had that much in common. Bonnie thought the Puppet was creepy. Sure, it wasn't "sentient", like they were, so unless someone was controlling it, it didn't interact with them at all. But that constant grin… it bothered him.

"Well, that's settled," Phil suddenly said, tapping Bonnie's shoulder. "You got it from here, right?"

Bonnie nodded, feeling better once the Puppet turned elsewhere. He didn't like that thing one bit…

* * *

"Phew, another show done!" Chica stretched, though there was no need for her to do so. "You could look a little happier, you know. The day wasn't all that bad."

She was looking at Bonnie as she said the last two sentences. The bunny sat in a chair next to her, watching the Puppet with a suspecting frown.

"I don't like the Puppet," he said.

Chica looked at it as well. "Yeah, well… Can't say I'm a fan either…" she confessed. "But don't think too much about it. The kids are okay with it, so there's no problem."

Freddy entered the room they were in, hands behind his back. "Excellent job today, you two. I've received nothing but positive remarks regarding your interactions with the children," he complimented. Then, seeing as both had their attentions glued to the inanimate puppet, he raised an eyebrow. "Is there a problem?"

"I don't like the Puppet," Bonnie repeated, still not looking away, as if the second he did so, the Puppet would jump at his throat.

The brown bear rolled his eyes. "Oh dear, not this again…" he sighed. "Bonnie, we had this conversation with father already… Puppet is a fellow robot, a colleague, we must treat him – um, _it_ , with respect. Especially considering it has no will. How can you _not like_ something that does not possess a personality of its own?"

"I don't like the way it looks at me…" Bonnie muttered in reply.

"Ah. Well, the hollow eyes are a bit unnerving…" Freddy admitted, glancing briefly at the Puppet. "Nevertheless, you are getting paranoid for no reason, Bonnie. The Puppet is not a threat."

Bonnie's eyes narrowed slightly, as if he didn't believe Freddy. Normally he would take every word the bear said and take is an absolute and irrefutable truth, but not this time. He just didn't trust that thing.

"Where's Foxy?" Chica inquired, feeling like it would be best for them to change the subject. "I haven't seen him since the doors closed…"

"Me either," Freddy said, looking over his shoulder as if expecting to see the red fox appear behind him. "I must congratulate him as well. It seems he is the favorite amongst our public."

" **Gone."**

Freddy, Bonnie and Chica froze. They recognized the voice that spoke. Slowly, they turned their heads on the direction of the supposedly inanimate Puppet. It turned its head to look at the just as slowly.

" **Foxy is gone,"** it stated.

Bonnie's eyes widened in absolute horror. "W-what?"

Chica stepped in front of the purple bunny on instinct, shielding him from the Puppet's gaze. "What did you do to him?" she asked.

The Puppet said nothing for a while. After a few seconds, it simply started laughing eerily, slithering towards them.

"I knew it, I knew it! It's gonna kill us all!" Bonnie cried, starting to shake in fear as he hid behind Chica. "It already killed Foxy!"

"Nonsense, we can't _die_ ," Freddy retorted, trying to conceal his nervousness at the Puppet's sudden unsettling attitude. His eyes darted from the Puppet to Bonnie and Chica, who took some steps back as safety precaution, trying to create some distance between them and the menacing robot. "S-surely this is all a misunderstanding…"

" **And you're next on the line of** _ **death**_ **, bunny,"** the Puppet threatened, with its hands open, as if it was going to try and strangle him.

Bonnie whimpered loudly. "Daddy! Daddy, he's gonna kill me!"

Completely forgetting that, as he had stated, he could not die, Freddy stared at the Puppet, eyes round with shock, and took a few steps back towards Bonnie and Chica. "N-now, Mr. Puppet, let's be reasonable… Um, we have not done anything that would call for such an attitude…"

"Chica, I'm scared! Where's daddy?" Bonnie cried, still hiding behind the chicken, even though his ears were perfectly visible.

The chicken turned towards the bunny and held him, looking back at the Puppet defiantly. "I'm not gonna let it hurt you, Bonnie. Freddy, do something!"

Freddy gulped. The Puppet was still approaching them with a menacing giggle. If there was ever a time in which he had to prove himself worthy of being the leader, now was that time. It had already taken one of his siblings – God rest Foxy's robotic soul… – and he'd be damned if he would let it take another! But what _could_ he do, really? He looked around, trying to find something with which he could defend himself. Maybe those chairs would do… He picked up the nearest one swiftly and held it above his head in what he hoped would be a threatening pose.

"Alright, Mr. Puppet. I'm sorry it has come to this," he declared. "But if you wish to harm my brother and sister, you'll have to go through me!"

Just as he completed his sentence, the Puppet stopped in its tracks. Its limbs fell and the glow that once filled its eye sockets disappeared.

Freddy blinked. What did just happen? Chica stared at the Puppet attentively, while Bonnie covered his eyes with dread. Where they safe?

"HAHAHA! Oh my god, you should have seen your face!"

Chica's apprehensive expression morphed into one of annoyance, as she realized what was really going on. She held Bonnie's arm gently. "It's okay, Bonnie, you're not in danger…" she assured. "Those two idiots…"

Bonnie uncovered his eyes to see Matt and Foxy emerging at the entrance, laughing loudly. Matt had a device in his hands, which the bunny recognized as being the one utilized by the staff to control the Puppet. But then that meant…

"It was a prank?!" Bonnie shrieked, standing up from behind Chica. "It was you two doing all the – Foxy, that was not funny!"

"Oh but it was lad," Foxy laughed. "Props to ye, Freddy, ye really rose to the occasion, hehe."

Freddy narrowed his eyes slightly as he adjusted his bowtie, having already dropped the chair at the sight of the two pranksters. "Ha ha," he laughed sarcastically. "Quite funny indeed. Next time someone threatens you in any manner, I will not move an animatronic finger to save you. Ungrateful little tyke…"

"Man that was good…" Matt said, clenching his fist at Foxy. The fox recognized the gestured and clenched his, then proceeding to bump it on the night guard's. "We have to team up more often…"

"Oh no you don't!" Chica protested. "This better be the last time you try and scare Bonnie, Foxy, or you'll have to hear it from me!"

Foxy put up his hands – well, hand and hook – in defense, though he was still grinning in amusement. "Alright, alright, lass, keep yer feathers on. Sorry, Bonnie, ye know I was just joking."

Bonnie pouted, crossing his arms and stomping away from them. "I'm gonna tell dad!" he whined.

Foxy's grin slithered off his face instantly. "W-wait, Bonnie, come on! Don't be mad, lad!" He dashed after the bunny, feeling guilty. He didn't mean to get Bonnie upset, after all. "I'll make it up to ye! I'll even play with those dolls ye like so much!"

* * *

Six months passed.

The animatronics carried on with their shows, their popularity increasing month after month. As time went by, their started seeing less and less of Mr. Anderson, whom they used to see practically every day. Phil explained to them that the owner of Fazbear Entertainment was opening other pizzerias in other locations, and often asked his son – Mr. Anderson – to help with making important decisions and checking if the place was up to their standards. To make sure they followed their schedule even with him being absent, a calendar was posted on a wall of the pizzeria so everyone could see it.

Freddy looked up at said calendar, checking what appointments they had for that week.

"Hm. Two birthdays. This week will be quite tiring…" the bear commented.

"And look." Foxy pointed at a square that had the label _"Jacob Martins – 7 years old"_ with his hook. "That lad is one of me best maties. I must prepare him a great party."

Bonnie was reading all the labels for the months carefully. He suddenly gasped and pushed Freddy away ("I'll say, such savage manners!"), pointing at the square relating to the following day. It didn't have a post-it, to make it noticeable like the others. Instead, it had a small drawing of a fox's head, which the bunny recognized as having been drawn by Matt. The night guard had talent for cartoon-ish drawings. "Hey, look at the name on that one!"

The other three animatronics looked at it and read the name. _"Phil Grayson"._

"But that's dad," Chica said. "He's having his birthday party here?"

Freddy huffed. "Naturally not, Chica. It is obvious that the staff marked father's birthday in the calendar because he is an invaluable member of the company and it would be an outrage if others did not know when to celebrate his birth," he explained.

"Stop using fancy speech," Chica said, annoyed.

"But, but, then daddy's _not_ having a birthday party?" Bonnie questioned.

Foxy shrugged. "I guess only maties celebrate their birthdays, lad. Adults don't mind it too much."

The bunny looked back at the calendar, looking for something. He grinned once he found a particular square that read _"Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy"._ "Our birthday is marked here too! And it's daddy's handwriting!"

"You know…" Chica started, looking like she was in deep thought. "I think dad deserves a birthday party. We see him every day, running back and forth, helping everyone with their tasks, even on things that aren't really his area. He deserves some retribution don't you think?"

Freddy observed her for a few seconds, and then nodded. "I must agree. He's hardworking, loyal and patient. All the ingredients necessary to make an excellent employee. Do all of us agree?" he asked, looking around as if he was the one to suggest the idea.

All animatronics nodded at once.

"Excellent. Then we shall prepare father's birthday. Each of us will have a specific task," the bear started explaining. "And I expect everything to be perfect."

Chica rolled her eyes. "We know, you think we're gonna ruin dad's birthday party?"

"Yarr lad, we got this! It will be the best birthday party ever!"

"Oohhh I know just what to do!" Bonnie squeaked in excitement. "It's gonna be awesome!"

And with that, without another word, all four animatronics went on their separate ways to prepare for the surprise birthday party. They all knew exactly what to do.

* * *

Bonnie hoped through the hallways, holding a banner in his hands with a giant childish grin. He had asked for a piece of fabric no one would need and then wrote on it "Happy birthday Phil". He then added some smiley faces and sparkles to make it cuter.

"Daddy's gonna be so happy!" he said to himself. Asides from the banner, he wanted to do something special for him. He wanted to make him a song. Sure, he wasn't allowed to make his own songs for the daily performances at the pizzeria, but there was no rule about him making songs to his siblings or father. Phil liked upbeat songs, so Bonnie already had an energetic rhythm in mind.

He hoped past a few doors, seeing his siblings busy with their own tasks. Freddy was in the kitchen, next to Chica, surprisingly. The chicken seemed to be extremely annoyed with the bear's presence, and Bonnie managed to get a piece of their conversation as he passed by.

"Freddy, this is _my_ kitchen, go find something else to do!"

Freddy shook his head vigorously. "I have made up my mind, Chica. I shall take on the task of making the birthday cake. It is, after all, the most important part of a birthday, so it only makes sense that I, the older sibling, take care of it," he said, in a tone of voice that was clearly trying to make his argument final.

Chica was having none of it though. "Yeah, because you are the one with the cooking skills programmed into you. Oh wait – you're not!" she retorted. "I'm the cook, so I'll do the cake!"

Feeling like the argument was not going to cease anytime soon, Bonnie kept hoping down the hallway, deciding not to partake in it. In another room he found Foxy talking with Marize.

"A pirate hat?" the girl asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why do you want a pirate hat? Is it for the show?"

Foxy shook his head. "Nah, lass, it's for pops. His birthday is tomorrow, and I want to give him a gift."

"Pops?" Marize repeated, looking confused for a second. "Oh, you mean Phil? Sure, I'll help you then!"

Bonnie smiled as Marize sat on a chair in front of a sewing machine, apparently to start making Foxy his pirate hat. He resumed hoping down the hallway, finally passing by the backstage. He went in, and kneeled in front of the two golden suits that sat on a corner.

"Hi, Spring me!" he greeted, waving at the Spring Bonnie suit.

The golden suit twitched, and opened its glowing eyes. Spring Bonnie smiled at the sight of the purple bunny. **"Hi, Bonnie,"** it said with a scratchy male voice. **"What are you doing here?"**

Bonnie bounced happily in the ground. It had been a couple of months since he managed to gather the courage to take a peek at what was happening at the "dark and overly creepy" backroom where the staff kept all the spare parts. Up until then, he had avoided that room at all costs, but upon learning that Golden Freddy and Spring Bonnie were kept there during the night, he went to visit them. It felt unfair that they were locked up in that dark place every night.

So, with an amount of bravery he didn't knew he had, he stepped inside the room and bent over to speak to the suits. He was half-expecting them to not answer – considering that during the day they were always controlled by the entertainer inside them – so he was extremely surprised when Spring Bonnie spoke to him. At first, he was a bit apprehensive, but he quickly realized that the golden version of himself was very friendly, and his personality was, in fact, much alike his.

Golden Freddy, on the other hand, remained mostly silent during their conversations, though he could have sworn the bear sometimes grunted or huffed. According to Spring Bonnie, the golden bear wasn't much of a talker.

The purple bunny now knew that both Spring Bonnie and Golden Freddy had been brought over from some diner, sold to Fazbear Entertainment after it closed down and then revamped to be golden. They weren't exactly his older siblings, like Freddy, Foxy and Chica, so Bonnie referred to them as his "cousins".

Bonnie unfolded the banner he had in his hands and showed it to his cousin. "Look, I made this for daddy's birthday! It's tomorrow. We're throwing him a surprise birthday party."

Spring Bonnie moved a bit closer to look at it. **"It looks great! I wish I knew how to write…"**

The purple bunny smiled. "I can teach you! It's really easy. Say, why don't you join the party tomorrow? We'd love to have both of you with us," he suggested.

The golden bunny's ears dropped slightly. **"I don't know… They used to let us walk around on our own at the diner, but I don't think we can do that here…"** he said, his voice sounding sorrowful.

Similarly to his golden cousin, Bonnie's ears dropped. "Oh… Maybe if I talk to Mr. Anderson about it…"

A grunt was heard, which interrupted Bonnie's sentence. He looked at Golden Freddy, who opened one eye to give him a stern look.

" **Don't bother, kid,"** he hissed. **"We've had enough birthday parties at the diner. It won't break us if we miss this one."**

Spring Bonnie looked at him from the corner of his eye, but didn't face him. **"But… I would really like to play with the kids again, Fredb…"**

" **DON'T. Call me that again,"** Golden Freddy warned, his rough voice echoing through the dark walls of the backroom. **"My name is Golden Freddy now, remember?"**

Bonnie looked at the grumpy bear and then at the now sad-looking bunny apprehensively. Golden Freddy sounded bitter. He wasn't sure what had happened at that diner they used to live in, but obviously Golden Freddy didn't want to be reminded of that place.


	4. Chapter 4 - Shock

**Disclaimer: I do not own "Five Nights at Freddy's" or its characters.**

 **[WARNING - See that "Tragedy" label I put on the FanFiction? Yeah, it's there for a reason. The happy times for "Freddy Fazbear's Pizza" have come to an end...]**

* * *

 **26** **th** **June, 1977**

Six years had passed since Freddy Fazbear's Pizza opened its doors to the public. Six years of success and fun, with the animatronics doing their very best to keep the children happy.

In those six years, not much had changed. Freddy still monitored the actions of his siblings, Bonnie still freaked out at the mere sight of a stain, Chica still treated the kitchen as her sanctuary and Foxy was still a hopeless prankster. As for Golden Freddy and Spring Bonnie, they were still kept in the backroom during the night, alone if it weren't for Bonnie's occasional visits.

Their father, Phil, was now married. The robots had seen very little of his wife, and thus didn't know her all that well. They knew she was called Mary-Anne, she was a lawyer, and that was it. Phil had also announced the fact that they were expecting their first child. The robots were ecstatic, eager to meet their new "sibling", but were kind of upset when they realized they would have to wait nine months.

"It sure takes a while to make a kid, uh?" Chica had commented, which for some reason made Phil turn red and change subject immediately.

Matt and Don were still good friends. Marize was still an entertainer, though she was now completely comfortable with the animatronics. The three had lately shown some signs of exhaustion, especially after busy days, but the robots understood – they couldn't feel tired, but humans sure could.

That day, 26th June, was supposed to be just another day. There was a birthday scheduled for that day – a little girl's, who was a regular at the pizzeria. It was just another day… but it ended up changing everything…

The pizzeria was, as usual, filled with children. There weren't that many adults there save for the birthday girl's parents and the members of the staff.

Freddy carried a birthday cake with the number "10" serving as candle. He placed the cake carefully in a round table, smiling at the black-haired girl already there.

"May you count many more, my dear," he said.

The girl smiled back, and then looked around, as if she was searching for someone. A girl with her brown hair in a ponytail noticed it and sighed.

"Give it up, Rika, he's not coming," she stated. "Come on, make a wish!"

Rika seemed disappointed for a few seconds, but then nodded. She looked at the friends that had gathered around her – the girl with the ponytail, a boy with red hair to his shoulders, a chubby blonde boy and another boy with short sleek black hair. They all smiled at her, waiting for her to make a wish. She closed her eyes tight, obviously deep in thought. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and blew air on the candle, extinguishing the small fire. Everyone clapped.

"So, what did you wish for?" Bonnie asked, clapping excitedly.

Chica elbowed him on the side. "She can't tell you that, or it won't come true," she explained.

"Oh right…"

Freddy cut the cake and gave each child a piece. They all ran off to play once they were done eating (Bonnie insisted they that ate at the table so they wouldn't get the floor dirty), leaving the animatronics to attend to the other children that were at the pizzeria.

 _They should have followed them…_

Foxy sighed as he passed by a particularly frustrated father. He had just been forced to intervene in a kid's quarrel that had turned physical. Who would know those kids had so much fight in them? And, as if it was his fault, he had gotten an earful from one of the kid's parents. Really, he did his best to solve things calmly, they should be thankful the kid didn't have any bruises from the fight.

His robotic eyes scanned the area, looking for any situation that he should keep an eye on. He spotted the birthday girl and her four friends playing in one of the tables, watched by one of the entertainers; he didn't know which one since they were wearing the Golden Freddy suit at the time. He smiled. He recognized those five kids. They were regulars there, and one of his best pirate crews. The birthday girl – named Rika, he thought – used to be quite apprehensive regarding the robots, he remembered. She didn't trust them at first. Was scared of them, even. At least now she knew they were there to keep her happy and safe.

He turned his back on the five kids once he felt another small one pull at his hook to catch his attention.

"Ahoy matie, don't pull on me hook!" he warned, patting the giggling kid's head gently.

 _He should have kept watching them…_

Three hours had passed since Foxy had last seen the five children. Now that he was done entertaining a group of toddlers with his stories, he searched the pizzeria for them, wanting to congratulate little Rika on another birthday, and perhaps even share his treasure with her. But he couldn't find them anywhere…

He spotted his siblings. They were all busy as well, so they couldn't help. The only one who was free at the moment was the Puppet, who, as if he could read his mind, turned its head on the fox's direction with its eerie permanent grin.

Foxy gulped. "Ahoy lad, did you see the birthday girl? This tall," he said, putting his hand slightly above his knees. "Black hair, cute face? She must be with her four friends."

The Puppet turned its head slowly to look at Pirate Cove. **"… He took them there…"**

 _He should have stopped him…_

The pirate raised an eyebrow. "Who took them there?"

The Puppet didn't answer this time, instead staring at the curtains of Foxy's dwellings. Seeing that the slender robot was not going to talk with him any longer, Foxy decided it would be best for him to just go check things out himself.

Once he was in front of the curtains, he heard something. Whimpering. It was hard to tell, because of all the noise of laughter and music that was going on in the dining area. Foxy pulled the curtains apart and went in.

His eyes immediately darted to the floor beneath him. There was a strange red liquid there. Could it be ketchup? Perhaps tomato sauce? Foxy touched it with his finger. Well, good thing it wasn't Bonnie finding that mess – he would have lost his mind if he saw all of that filth. The fox looked up, noticing a small figure that was lying on the floor. And another one, next to one of the treasure chests. And another one… and another one… Four small children… all lying on the floor, covered in that strange red liquid.

"Maties?" he called, stepping towards the one closest to him carefully. _"Could they be taking a nap?"_

He kneeled next to the child. A girl with her brown hair tied in a ponytail. He shook her gently, but received no response. Only then did he notice a gap in her shirt. His eyes widened as he realized the girl was injured. She had a large wound on her back, as if it was opened several times. The red liquid was coming from there.

" _Blood!"_ Foxy thought, remembering what Phil had taught them about injuries. _"The lass is injured!"_

Foxy looked around, now feeling a hint of despair and panic, especially once he realized that all four children showed severe injuries. One boy had deep cuts all over his arms; another one was lying face down, and it seemed the blood was indeed coming from his face; and the last boy had his arms and legs spread open, and the spot where his eyes once were, was empty and bloodied.

The robot got back up, intending on turning around to call for Phil. He didn't know how to treat injuries, and these seemed to be very serious. He had seen children with small cuts or bruises before, but nothing like this! This… this was horrendous!

"Help… me…"

Foxy's ears perked up once he heard a tiny voice coming from his stage. He dashed towards the ship, gasping once he saw the birthday girl, Rika, curled in a ball. She was holding her leg, which had some severe cuts, and there was blood coming from her mouth.

"Please…" she cried. "Help me…"

"Don't ye worry, lass, I'll help ye," Foxy assured, trying to pull her up with his one hand. "I'll call me pops, he'll fix ye and yer friends up… I'll help ye."

He would have to get her out of there, though. Even he called for help, with all the noise going on out there, there was no way anyone would listen.

The girl sobbed and looked up at him. At that moment, her eyes widened in horror. There was someone behind him…

"You can't."

That horrible voice, familiar, sneering at him, was the last thing Foxy heard before it all went black.

* * *

"Foxy…? Foxy!"

The pirate twitched his eyes open. First thing he saw, was Phil looking at him in worry.

"Foxy! Thank God, are you alright?"

The fox sat up on the floor, rubbing his head. One look around was enough for him to see he was in Pirate Cove, surrounded by his siblings. What happened? Why was he on the floor? For some reason, he felt weird…

"I… I think so, pops… What am I doing here?" he asked.

"That's what I wanted to ask you!" Phil said. He looked extremely nervous. "We just found you on the floor – s-someone turned you off…"

Foxy looked at the head of security. "What do ye mean 'someone turned me off'?"

Phil brushed his hair away from his forehead, breathing heavily. Foxy had never seen him so worried and tense. "I don't know, I don't know… Oh God, this is awful…"

Without explaining anything properly, Phil turned away from the robots and left Pirate Cove. Foxy looked at his siblings quizzically. "Will any of ye tell me what is going on?"

Chica and Freddy looked at each other, but said nothing. They both had the same distraught expression.

Bonnie's lip trembled. "F-Foxy… Two children went m-missing…" he revealed.

Foxy's eyes widened. "Missing?" he repeated, not believing what he was hearing. " _Missing?_ How could that be?!"

"It was the birthday girl, Fredericka," Freddy said, his voice lacking the usual assertiveness. "And her sister, Bernadette. Their parents arrived to pick them up, and found they were not at the pizzeria anymore."

Chica held herself, looking fragile and broken for the first time ever. "We should have watched them… How could they just disappear….?"

"Father was hoping you had seen something," Freddy added, continuing to look at the floor rather than his siblings.

Foxy looked around, trying to gather his memories of that day. Odd. He remembered looking around for the children… he wanted to give Fredericka – no, Rika – a gift… But did he find her? No… He didn't remember… He remembered the Puppet… it told him Rika was in Pirate Cove… But once he got in…

"I… I don't remember…" he muttered, holding his head, as if it would help him regain his memories. "I got in Pirate Cove and then… and then… I can't remember anything else…"

"Do you think the one who t-took Rika messed with Foxy's programming?" Bonnie asked anxiously, turning to Freddy.

The bear sighed somberly. "That is a possibility… In order to do so, the person would have to be… familiar with how we function, however."

Bonnie looked confused for a second. Chica, however, immediately realized what Freddy was implying.

"No," she spat. "No way. There is _no way_ that someone from the pizzeria would… There is no way!"

The four animatronics stayed there in silence, looking at the floor. They were all thinking the same – someone from the pizzeria took Rika and her sister… but how could they…?

Foxy was the first to move. He stood up, looking at his stage. Someone messed with his memory. Someone made him forget… did he find Rika? Did he try to save her, but couldn't because the one responsible turned him off and made him forget?

" _I will make them pay…"_ he hissed in his thoughts, his eye twitching. _"When I find them… I will make them suffer… Oh they will suffer – and they'll beg for mercy, which I will not show to them!"_

"Foxy…?"

The fox snapped out of his thoughts by Bonnie's meek calling. The bunny looked startled.

"Are… are you alright?" he asked, looking at the pirate apprehensively.

Foxy looked at his hook. No. He wasn't alright. What was he thinking? Was he actually thinking about _hurting_ someone? That wasn't like him! That wasn't like him at all! And yet… that rage… that hate… He could imagine himself hurting the one responsible for taking the kids… and getting some kind of savage satisfaction by doing it…

What was wrong with him…?

* * *

Bonnie sat in the backroom, hugging his knees. How could things have gone so wrong, and so fast? Even though he couldn't shed any tears physically, he felt hurt… sad… devastated.

Two children had been taken away by someone… someone from the pizzeria… The staff was called in for a meeting, and none of them admitted to have anything to do with the disappearance of the two sisters. They all seemed shocked, horrified. Could any of them really have something to do with it?

He had never seen his father so sad. Phil didn't say a word during the whole meeting, his face buried in his hands. Bonnie didn't know what to say to make him feel better. And if that wasn't bad enough…

The bunny looked at the suit next to him. Golden Freddy. The robot had stains of a dark reddish color, and there were wires coming off its eye sockets and mouth. Bonnie heard that after the story of how the two sisters went missing was spread, Golden Freddy lost it. From what he had heard, the yellow bear just ripped out his eyes and pieces of his endoskeleton from his mouth, shutting himself down permanently. The mechanic of the pizzeria did his best to re-activate him, but for some reason, the bear just simply would not respond.

Spring Bonnie hadn't said a word since Bonnie got to the backroom. He tried to get his cousin to speak, but the yellow bunny would just stare continuously at the floor, his eyes empty.

"How could this happen…?" Bonnie sobbed, his head buried in his arms. "We were so happy… why…?"

 **"Bonnie"**

Bonnie's ears twitched. He looked up, seeing the Puppet staring at him. For the first time, the slender robot didn't look menacing.

"W-what do you want?"

The Puppet didn't answer, and simply turned its back on Bonnie.

 **"Follow me."**

Bonnie followed the animatronic with his eyes as it slithered out of the backroom. It took a while for the purple bunny to decide he should probably follow the Puppet and see what he wanted. Certainly whatever he had to tell him couldn't make him feel any more depressed…

The Puppet led Bonnie to the stage. It was night, so there was no one at the pizzeria – not even Matt, since the pizzeria was closed and thus there was no need for a night guard. His siblings were already there, and they all looked pretty confused as to why they were there.

"Ah, there you are Bonnie," Freddy said, raising an eyebrow at the Puppet. "Mr. Puppet has asked us to gather, though I am not sure what this is about…"

Bonnie stood next to Chica, instinctively moving closer to her, holding her left wing to feel safer.

The Puppet stood in front of the robots. **"What is your job?"** it asked.

Bonnie and Chica exchanged looks. Foxy didn't seem the least interested in what the Puppet had to say. So, it fell on Freddy to answer the monochromatic robot's question.

"To keep children happy and safe, of course," he replied flatly. "I still don't see where this is going…"

 **"You failed,"** the Puppet interrupted, its eyes narrowing slightly. **"Five children died. Because of you."**

Bonnie whimpered, as both Freddy and Chica gasped. "'Died'?" he repeated, horrified. "'Five children'? I thought only two went missing! What did…"

Once again, the Puppet interrupted. **"Two have been reported missing by their parents,"** it explained. **"The other three were not supposed to be at the pizzeria. Their parents do not know they were here."**

Freddy was obviously trying to regain his composure. "W-well, in that case we should alert the authorities and…"

 **"We can't trust the adults,"** the Puppet stated. **"None of them. Not even the one you call 'father'."**

"Don't you talk about my dad!" Chica snapped, pointing at the Puppet angrily. "You don't know anything!"

The Puppet didn't seem impressed with Chica's outburst. It simply kept staring at them condescendingly. **"Whatever. That is not the reason I am here. You can compensate for your errors,"** it stated. **"You have a chance to make it up to them."**

Foxy finally spoke, raising an eyebrow. "Make it up to who?"

Suddenly, four children appeared next to the Puppet. Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy all took a step back in surprise. The children had appeared too suddenly, it wasn't possible. How did they get there? Plus, they didn't look solid. Their image flickered on and off, like a TV with bad reception.

They recognized the children immediately. They were the four children that were next to the birthday girl. The girl with a ponytail, the blonde chubby boy, the red-haired boy and the one with black hair. They were all there, blood in their clothes, an empty stare…

"Wha… what is this?" Chica gasped, her eyes darting from one child to another.

 **"These are the children you have failed,"** the Puppet said.

"B-but… but… you said there were five…" Bonnie stuttered, feeling scared once again.

The Puppet looked over its shoulder. There was another child behind it. The birthday girl, Rika. Her image also flickered on an off. She looked at the animatronics sadly, and then disappeared.

 **"That one is weak,"** the Puppet muttered. **"She doesn't want to take what is hers. But no matter…"**

The slender robot turned back to the four animatronics. **"It's time for you to complete your task. They lost their lives due to your mistakes. So… give them new lives…"**

 **"… Give them YOUR lives."**


	5. Chapter 5 - Sadness

**Disclaimer: I do not own "Five Nights at Freddy's" or its characters.**

* * *

How did it come to this…? They were so happy… They loved their jobs, they loved the children, the staff…

Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy didn't argue, didn't fight, when the mechanics lead them to the van that would take them away. They knew it wasn't their fault. The robots climbed up to the van, where Golden Freddy and Spring Bonnie were already sitting. Since that awful day when those five kids died, no one had been able to reactivate Golden Freddy. Spring Bonnie refused to talk about it. In fact, he refused to talk about anything.

As they sat inside the back of the van, knowing what was expecting them, they couldn't help but relive it all in their heads. That day, that would forever be marked in their memories… 26th June… and the events that followed…

* * *

The days after the Puppet visited them along with the ghosts of the dead children served as indication that things were not going to get better in time. The staff kept working, their heads hanging low, not bothering to try and pretend that they were doing okay. The robots were not feeling much better.

"I really think we should tell dad about this, Freddy…" Chica said one day, for what felt like the thousandth time. "This doesn't feel right…"

Freddy sighed. "We cannot, Chica. Do you not see that father already has a lot to deal with at the moment?" he reasoned, nodding in Phil's direction, who was at the phone arguing with someone.

Seeing their father arguing was something they considered to be an impossibility up until that point, but ever since the children died there didn't seem to be a day when Phil didn't end up yelling at someone. They knew why – as the head of security, he was under a lot of pressure.

"This is _our_ responsibility. We'll handle this," Freddy concluded, putting his chin up in an attempt to show bravery.

Chica frowned. "I don't like this, Freddy. I know you think that we have to help the kids, but this doesn't feel right…"

Freddy agreed with her in his thoughts, but he decided to simply act as if her observation was not heard. If he, the leader, showed apprehension, then they would only get even more worried and nervous about it. But he too felt like things weren't right.

The Puppet's idea of "compensating for their mistakes" was an unusual one – they were to allow the spirits of the deceased to take over their bodies, allowing them to "live" again through them. At first, it felt like a reasonable deal, and they assumed that having the children control them once in a while wouldn't pose that much of a problem.

They were wrong.

One night in particular forced them to face the true implications of having ghosts inhabiting their bodies. The robots were free to wander around the pizzeria, as usual, just as long as they didn't mess anything up.

Bonnie was playing cards with Matt, the night guard, that night, as he often did.

"Do you have any 5's?" Bonnie asked, looking at Matt with an hopeful expression.

Matt shook his head. "Nope. Go fish."

Bonnie pouted as he picked up a card. He waited a few seconds for Matt to call out which card he wanted, but the night guard seemed to have forgotten what they were doing. He was simply staring at the cards, absent-mindedly. The bunny looked at him sadly. Matt was at the pizzeria the day the kids disappeared, and he could remember how horrified he looked. Bonnie was so used to see the guard with a confident and laidback disposition, it was hard to see him like that. He seemed… broken, and tired. In fact, only then did Bonnie notice that the man had dark rings around his eyes, as if he hadn't been sleeping well. He wasn't the only one, Bonnie remembered. Both Don and Marize seemed especially tired lately.

"Matt?" he called.

The guard blinked and jumped slightly, snapped out of whatever he was thinking about abruptly. "What? Oh, uh, sorry Bonnie… Hm… is it… my turn?" he asked, yawning.

"You look tired…" Bonnie commented. "Do you want to sleep for a while? I can watch over the pizzeria while you take a nap."

Matt looked at Bonnie with a grateful expression. "That would be great, buddy… I really shouldn't, but… in the condition I'm in, I wouldn't be guarding much anyway…" he admitted, scratching his head as he yawned again.

Bonnie smiled and stood up. "It's okay. I'll keep the place safe, promise!"

The guard managed to make a small smile as he stood up as well. "Pinky promise?"

The bunny giggled and spread his arms to hug Matt. And that was when it happened.

Instead of the light playful hug Bonnie was planning, he found himself almost squeezing the life out of the already worn-out guard. Matt struggled against his strength, yelling out at him to stop it, but Bonnie couldn't do anything. As much as he told himself to let him go, his arms just did not respond.

Amidst his horror, he clearly heard a voice say: **"Kill him"**.

" _What? Kill him?! No, I can't do that!"_ Bonnie thought, growing more and more horrified as Matt was starting to turn blue.

"Bonnie, what are you doing?!"

Chica appeared at the door of the office, forcing Bonnie to let go of the night guard, who collapsed on the floor, trying to regain his breathing. Once Matt was free, Bonnie felt like he could control his arms again.

"Ugh… what… was that for?!" Matt snapped, coughing as Chica kneeled next to him.

"Are you alright?" she asked gently, before turning a piercing stare at Bonnie. "Do you mind telling me what on earth did you think you were doing?"

Bonnie stared at his trembling hands in horror. "I-I d-don't know… I c-couldn't control it, it was l-like… l-like something w-was making me d-do it…" he cried. "I-I'm sorry, Matt, I didn't mean to!"

Despite Bonnie's continuous apologizes, after that day Matt didn't allow the bunny inside his office anymore. In fact, he didn't allow any of the robots in. Chica tried her best to comfort Bonnie, saying it was only natural that he'd be upset for a while, and he should just give him some time.

But Bonnie knew then, that it would only get worse from there.

The following days, it wasn't just the purple bunny who was finding it hard to have control over his body. Chica and Freddy also found themselves making seemingly threatening motions towards the staff, and they didn't know why they had done it either. At first. Now they knew – the children. They were forcing them to attack the adults.

" **We can't trust the adults,"** it's what the Puppet had said. They wanted revenge for their deaths. Maybe they felt like the whole staff failed them… Maybe they thought it would be fair if they died too…

Chica wasn't the only one who thought they should tell someone. Bonnie also wanted to tell their father – he was sure he'd be able to help. But Freddy was adamant; they had to do what the children wanted. It was their job. They quickly found that they were unable to tell anyone, either way. Bonnie made a desperate attempt to communicate to Phil what was happening, but once he tried, the only sounds he managed to make made it sound like he was choking on something. It was as if the spirit controlling him knew what he was thinking, and prevented him from saying anything.

They even tried, as last resort, to ask the Puppet for help. As they expected, the slender robot did nothing to aid them. It simply stated that it was their duty to allow the children to do as they pleased – which was not entirely correct; after all, as Phil had taught them, there were some things that they couldn't allow kids to do no matter how much they wanted to, and killing someone was certainly one of them. Once they pointed it out to the Puppet, it grew angry and started acting much alike a spoiled brat whose favorite activity just got denied. After that day, the Puppet simply refused to talk to them altogether.

What worried them the most, however, was Foxy. The pirate fox didn't, at first, to be too affected by the presence of a spirit. It became obvious though, in time, that his attitude was no longer the same. There were times when he would get grouchy for no reason. Others when he'd just start laughing maniacally in the middle of a sentence, only for him to go back to normal without realizing why everyone around him seemed so freaked out. The worst, however, was what lead to him being locked up in Pirate Cove permanently.

It was a regular day at the pizzeria, a week after Bonnie unwillingly attacked Matt, and the robots were having some problems with one of the children. A chubby boy with the typical expression of one who is used to have everything he demands, was making a big fuss. He wanted his parents – quite rich, from the looks of it – to buy the animatronics so they would be his servants.

"B-but we can't leave the pizzeria, right Freddy?" Bonnie said meekly, looking up at the bear for support.

Freddy nodded. "Right you are, Bonnie. I'm afraid that your request cannot be fulfilled, my boy. But, if you wish, you can visit us whenever you want and…"

"That's not I want!" the boy interrupted, glaring daggers at the bear. "I want all three of you to be at _my_ house to be _my_ servants. You already look like a butler anyway."

The bear gasped. "That's preposterous!"

"Look, kid, a 'no' it's a 'no," Chica retorted, crossing her arms. She really didn't have the patience for petulant kids like that. "We work here and we live here. If your parents are that rich, have them make robots like us just for you."

"But I want YOU," the kid snapped, stomping his foot in what was an obvious sign of an impending tantrum. "NOW, NOW, NOW!"

"Ahoy, is there a problem?" Foxy wanted to know, approaching the scene.

Chica was just about to explain him what was going on when the kid pointed at Foxy dramatically.

"And you!" he called, to which Foxy raised an eyebrow quizzically. "You can be my dog."

The pirate's polite quizzical expression turned into an angered scowl to quickly for the other robots' liking. " _What_ did ye just call me, boy?"

"A dog, isn't that what you are?" the kid sneered, looking at him disdainfully. "We'll have to get rid of that stupid eye-patch though. And that hook. Seriously, pirates are stupid, I really don't like their…"

They never got to find out what exactly was it about pirates the kid didn't like. Chica and Freddy barely had enough time to grab Foxy's arms to stop him from lounging at the kid. Bonnie quickly grabbed the child and took him back to the entrance, where his parents were already demanding to see their manager. It took a long while for Foxy to calm down, and when he did, he had no recollection of ever trying to attack the kid; in fact, he considered the mere thought to be ridiculous. Phil had a lot of problems with the kid's parents, but, since the child hadn't been harmed in any way, he managed to convince them not to sue.

Freddy, Chica and Bonnie knew that, in Foxy's case, it wasn't the spirit controlling him that was causing his sudden change in attitude. The mechanic confirmed that whoever shut him down the day the children went missing didn't really know what they were doing – they ended up damaging Foxy's system, making him act in an erratic and unpredictable way. Mr. Anderson was forced to keep Foxy locked in Pirate Cove from that day onwards while they tried to come up with a solution.

Meanwhile, the bear, chicken and bunny had to watch their world crumble before their eyes. Not only was their fox brother now confined to Pirate Cove during the day and night, the staff lost two members in one week.

That week started in a very unpleasant note – Phil gathered the robots to tell them the pizzeria was going to be closed down for a while.

"What – closed?" Bonnie repeated, shocked. "Why?"

Phil rubbed his eyes. He looked more tired than ever. "The police started an, uhh, investigation about the two missing kids," he explained. "Now there are three more that are tied to the case, and… they're investigating the pizzeria."

Freddy refrained from sharing a meaningful look with Chica and Bonnie. They already knew there were five missing kids and not just two, of course. But they couldn't tell anyone.

"So, w-we're going to close the doors for a while. Just, you know… while they look for the, uhh… c-corpses…" Phil added, shuddering at the thought of having corpses hidden in there.

"Did they find whoever did it yet?" Freddy wanted to know.

Phil's expression saddened. "T-they… have a suspect…"

Bonnie's ears perked up. "Who?"

The head of security looked around, as if the longer he took to answer the more likely it would be that whatever news he was about to give the robots wouldn't be true. "Don," he finally said. "They took Don this morning…"

Chica's eyes widened, while Bonnie squeezed her wing in shock.

Freddy blinked with a distraught expression. "C-certainly there was some sort of mistake… Donovan Symonds, the day guard? No, no… that is… no…"

"But he's so nice!" Bonnie cried. "He wouldn't hurt anyone…!"

"They c-caught him on camera," Phil revealed, his voice wavering. "I… watched the footage… it's… i-it's him… He put on the Golden Freddy suit and…"

Phil's voice died, and he didn't seem like he could keep talking any longer. He simply held the bridge of his nose and tried to swallow down his sadness.

Bonnie looked up at Chica, who seemed to still be recovering from the shock of such a reveal. Don? A killer? That didn't sound right… He was just as shocked as everyone else when the news of the two missing kids arrived, no one was that good of an actor… They suspected from the beginning that it had been someone from the pizzeria to lead the kids away, but they had a bit of hope that it wouldn't be like that.

Phil managed to regain his strengths. "L-look… This will be all sorted out, uhh… I don't t-think Don would do something like this b-but… all of the evidence…" He gulped and looked at the robots. "Well, this is all… I just…"

His voice trailed off again. But this time, his expression was that of shock. He stared at the robots, his eyes wide and mouth agape.

"What the hell…?!"

Bonnie looked at Phil confused as the man sprinted up to him. "Daddy? What is it?"

Phil touched the bunny's nose and then looked at his fingers. There was a red liquid in his fingers. "W-what… Blood…?"

Chica immediately reached for her beak, and her wings found the same red liquid coming from there. She looked at Bonnie, who had that red liquid in his nostrils and mouth.

"Dad?" Chica called, her voice trembling slightly. "Dad, what is this?"

"Hold on, I'll call the mechanic!" Phil said, sprinting out of the dining, leaving the robots to stare at each other in absolute confusion. They all had this "blood" thing coming out of their nostrils and mouth.

Once the mechanic arrived, he concluded, bewildered, that there was absolutely no reason for the robots to have blood coming out of their suits. There was nothing odd inside their suits, nothing in their endoskeletons that would explain that odd event. Both he and Phil decided that it had been probably some oil leakage or something and forgot about the situation.

Days after Don's arrest had been announced, tragedy struck again in the pizzeria. Bonnie was helping Chica at the kitchen, when they heard the distinct sound of sirens outside.

Chica's eyebrows were raised. "What is that?"

"Sirens?" Bonnie peeked outside the kitchen door, seeing members of the staff run to the exit, with dark expressions. "What happened?" he asked Matt as he passed by.

Matt looked at Bonnie with a frown. The bunny stepped back, looking at the floor. He didn't like how Matt treated him and his siblings after the… "hug" incident… Matt hated him. He didn't like the feeling of cold and suspicion that the night guard carried in his eyes whenever he looked at them. He knew the man had a good reason to be wary around them, but it still hurt.

"Something happened with Marize," Matt finally replied, taking his eyes away from the robot. "Phil found her in the backroom… Looks like she was hurt or something."

Bonnie looked at Chica worriedly, who returned the expression. The two robots bolted out of the kitchen, to find Freddy standing in the hallway, looking at the exit with a somber look. Foxy was peeking out of Pirate Cove, confused as to the reason behind all the noise.

"What happened to Marize?" Chica asked, tapping Freddy's elbow.

Freddy didn't answer, instead closing his eyes. Chica knew Freddy was fond of Marize, so if the bear couldn't even bring himself to talk about what happened then it had to be serious.

Her worst suspicions were confirmed when two men in white emerged from the hallway that led to the backroom with a wheeled steel-stretcher. They couldn't see who was on the stretcher, since they were covered by a white sheet, which was starting get stained in red.

Phil followed after the stretcher, blood in his arms and hands, and a lost look of someone who was trying to erase whatever just happened from his mind.

"Daddy!" Bonnie called. "Daddy, where's Marize? What happened?"

Chica put a hand on Bonnie's shoulder to silence him. She knew what was going on. From Freddy's expression, to the stretcher, and her father… She knew.

"The person in the stretcher _is_ Marize," she clarified with a soft voice.

Bonnie's ears dropped. The men in white took the stretcher outside, to the ambulance that was already waiting.

"Father found Marize in the backroom, near the Golden Freddy and Spring Bonnie suits…" Freddy finally spoke, his voice soaked in the most heart-wrenching sadness. "She… had a knife in her hands. There was nothing father could have done…"

"W-what did she do with the knife?" Bonnie insisted, still not understanding what exactly had transpired.

"Marize is dead, Bonnie," Freddy said abruptly. "She took her own life. I saw it." His chin trembled. "When I got there, she was already… using the knife to end it all."

The police were once again investigating the pizzeria. Naturally wanting to make sure Marize had in fact committed suicide, they checked the surveillance cameras and interrogated everyone. No one had any idea as to what would lead the entertainer to end her own life, but everyone agreed that she was exceptionally tired lately and often showed signs of not remembering what she was doing or where she was going. Everything was falling apart.

The pizzeria reopened, eventually, but not for long. The so called "oil leakage" was not a onetime oddity, it turned out. Shortly after the pizzeria was open to costumers again (which were not as frequent as they once were due to all the controversy) many parents noticed how the robots sometimes had a "red liquid" oozing out of their nostrils, eyes and mouths. The mechanic insisted that there was nothing wrong with them, but the health department was having none of it. They deemed the pizzeria unfit to be open for costumers and, added to all the bad publicity regarding a member of the staff killing five kids and another one committing suicide, Mr. Anderson had no choice but to close it down for good.

And that was the end. The end of their happy lives. The end of their family.

* * *

The robots sat in the darkness of the van that would carry them to their temporary homes. They were to be shut down, while the owner of the company decided whether or not he would attempt at reopening the pizzeria in due time.

Someone tapped on the door of the van. The door opened. It was Phil.

"Daddy…" Bonnie called, whimpering. "I'm scared…"

"I know, I know…" Phil climbed inside the van, sitting in front of the purple bunny. He forced a comforting smile. "Don't worry, this isn't permanent. They are just, uhh… w-working on some things… The pizzeria will reopen. I'm sure of it. And you guys will be with the kids again."

Bonnie looked down, sobbing lightly. Phil turned to Chica.

"Take care of him, okay?" he requested.

The chicken nodded promptly and put her wing around Bonnie's shoulders. "I will. We'll see you again, right dad?"

"Of course," he assured, grinning. "You're not getting rid of your old man that easily, heh."

He then looked at Freddy, who was holding his hat in his lap, looking at the ceiling, deep in thought. "We will wait patiently for the moment when we reunite, father."

Foxy was shrouded in darkness, tapping his hook on his knee, without saying a word. He didn't like goodbyes. Phil had already talked to him before they had been herded up to the van anyway.

The fox frowned, as he remembered their conversation. He knew there was something wrong with him. He knew he hadn't been acting right since that day… It didn't matter how many times his father had told him otherwise, Foxy knew the truth – he was a monster now… Maybe it would be better for everyone if he was never activated again. Like Golden Freddy…

"Phil, we gotta go," called a voice from outside.

Phil sighed heavily and, with a last reassuring tap on Bonnie's head, turned his back on them to walk out the van. The bunny looked at the corner where the two golden suits were, spotting a third robot next to them – the Puppet.

"Daddy!"

Phil looked back at him as he was about to leave. "Yes, Bonnie?"

The bunny pouted lightly, trying very hard not to start wailing and screaming for his dad to go with him. "A… are w-we… W-when we're shut down… f-f-for a while… Is it… is it like d-dying?"

Chica held him closer to her, comfortingly.

"No," Phil replied, smiling sadly. "Like I said, it's not permanent. It's… more like sleeping. You'll be taking a good nap, while we… built you guys a new home."

Bonnie nodded, making a brave effort to smile, so his father wouldn't worry.

"Bye, kids," Phil said. "We'll see each other again soon."

That was the last thing they heard, before they felt the mechanic approach them, and darkness was all they could see. The last reassuring thought they all had, before their minds went blank, was that, surely, wherever this new home was, things couldn't get any worse.

But yet again…

… they were wrong.

* * *

 **[A/N - A lot of bad stuff happened there...**

 **So, explanation time! The animatronics were transported to a location in which they would stay while they wait for another pizzeria to open. You probably can guess that _that_ would be the pizzeria from 1987, but the robots don't have any memories from anything that happened there since they were still shut down - locked in the spare parts room, to be more precise. So, next chapter will be a skip to 1992, in the pizzeria where Mike works, but before he takes over the night shift. **

**Yeah, they will be reunited with their dad again... Just not in the way they imagined...**

 **BTW! Wanna see how Bonnie looks like in my version? Go to my DeviantArt account, "Five Nights at Freddy's" foulder in my gallery, and see the image "Close the Door"** **:3]**


	6. Chapter 6 - Horror

**Disclaimer: I do not own "Five Nights at Freddy's" or its characters.**

* * *

 **1990**

Bonnie felt himself wake up. His eyes opened abruptly, and, at first, all he could see was a bright light and a ceiling.

The last memory he had was of his father saying goodbye to him, and him being shut down. And then he remembered – he and his siblings were going to be transferred into another location while they waited for a new pizzeria to be built.

The bunny felt a jolt of happiness. If he was awake, that meant that the new pizzeria was finally open! He tried looking around, to find his brothers and sister, but was surprised when he was unable to do so.

" _What's happening…? Why can't I move?"_ he thought.

After a few futile attempts to try and move his head, he decided instead to try and move his hands. They wouldn't respond. Now he was starting to feel scared. Why couldn't he move? Why did he feel restrained?

He couldn't tell, of course, but his siblings were struggling as well. Chica was trying to move her wings, but to no avail. No one could see it, as her expression was frozen in a permanent smile, but on the inside, she was getting increasingly more frustrated. Freddy had given up on trying to move a while ago, finding it useless. Foxy tried moving his arm a couple of times, but, since he couldn't know his siblings were also unable to move, he assumed it was just him, and that the managers still didn't trust him to move on his own.

"Bonnie."

Bonnie didn't recognize the voice that called his name. His eyes moved on the direction of the voice, and he saw a tall man with sleek black hair and piercing eyes. If Bonnie could move, he would flinch. The man looked scary…

He called the other robots as well, and they too looked at the unknown male with suspicion.

"Looks like everything's working just fine," the man commented, turning to someone who emerged from Bonnie's side. "They can't move freely for now, right?"

"No," the mechanic replied, cleaning the oil off his hands with a cloth. "Their movements are controlled by the script programmed into them, and they can't leave the stage. They'll have to move around freely at night, though."

The black-haired man nodded. "That thing with the servos locking up, uh? Well, shouldn't be a problem." He took a long look at the purple bunny, who once again felt the urge to flinch when confronted with the unknown man's stare. "Guess I should explain things to them, or whatever. You sure they can understand what I say?"

The mechanic chuckled. "Sure. They won't be able to talk back, but they'll hear you."

The robots watched as the tall man stepped onto the stage they were in, walking in front of Bonnie first and then making his way across the stage, passing by each of the robots.

"My name is Lawrence Richards," the man said. "I'm the manager of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. You may not recognize the place as it is, but this is the same pizzeria you guys lived in back in 1977."

The robots couldn't show their surprise, but they were all exploring the place with their eyes, only now recognizing the decoration in the walls. The walls, ceiling, everything looked old and decaying, and the robots couldn't tell why. It looked as if a long time had passed since the pizzeria closed down. But why would they be back there?

"It has been thirteen years since this pizzeria closed down," Lawrence informed. "We don't have that much money to renovate the place, so this will have to do for now. You won't be able to move during the day, and will be performing from a script. You will regain your freedom during the night."

Bonnie followed the man as he appeared and disappeared from his range of sight, and he couldn't help but feel like that man didn't like them, nor did he trust them. He could see it in his eyes.

Freddy was more concerned about the reason why they couldn't move. Never until that day were they forbidden from moving around as they pleased – plus, they wouldn't be able to interact with the children that way.

Chica was annoyed. She didn't like the new manager. The way he talked with them… it sounded condescending. And now she couldn't move around like she wanted to, how would she be able to go into the kitchen and make cupcakes and pizzas for the kids? She was going to be restrained to that show stage for the rest of her days…

Foxy, on the other hand, believed this was all for the best. He knew he, especially, was unstable and unpredictable. The kids would be safer without him around, probably. He didn't understand why his brothers and sister had to be restrained too, though. They never did anything wrong…

"Alright, that's all," Lawrence grunted, stepping out of the stage. "Shut them back down, I don't want them staring at us like that all day."

The mechanic nodded and then looked at the robots sadly. "Sorry about this, guys…"

The robots watched the mechanic approach them, all sharing feelings of annoyance over being active for just a couple of minutes before being turned off again. Francis wouldn't have treated them like that. Neither would their father… They missed him. He promised them that he would be there for when they were reactivated at the new location… Where could he be…?

* * *

The next couple of days were very awkward. They weren't used to be restricted to just one area all day. They had to stand still, motionless, on the stage, watching the members of the staff running back and forth, getting things fixed and rearranging furniture. Bonnie, especially, wanted to bounce off the stage and help the staff, but he couldn't. He couldn't even talk with his siblings! But, at least he could during the night.

At night, all of them had their free-roaming mode back and were free to talk to each other and check the pizzeria out. Not that there was much to see, but it felt good to be back to somewhere they knew and cherished. Despite the bad that had happened there, they also had good memories.

The manager never spoke to them again after that first meeting. They all agreed that the man didn't seem to think much of them, and Freddy noted he seemed quite apprehensive about letting them walk around even during the night. It was obvious that he didn't think they could be trusted.

The only member of the staff they "interacted" with was the janitor. An old man, named Jim. He talked to them quite often, and seemed to be much nicer than the manager. He explained to them that the manager didn't let them walk around during the day because of an event called "The Bite of 87".

He didn't share any details with them, but apparently there had been another pizzeria, in 1987, with other robots that were like revamped versions of them. As if he could tell what questions they wanted to make him, Jim told them they were shut down that year, which is why they didn't remember any of it, and had been replaced by those new robots, called Toy Bots. Freddy in particular was indignant with that reveal, finding it absurd that they were replaced, but Bonnie was just sad they never got to meet those other robots. From what Jim told them, one of the robots bit a costumer, and all the Toy Bots were thus destroyed. That, at least, explained why the manager didn't want them moving around – he didn't want them to end up hurting someone, even if it was by accident. It seemed like the Puppet had been destroyed along with the Toy Bots, because it wasn't there with them. Neither were Golden Freddy or Spring Bonnie.

Their first performance was not as satisfying as it could have been. Of course, they wanted to be back on stage and see all the happy faces of the children while they sang their favorite songs, but that first show was disappointing for several reasons. For one, there weren't that many children there. They didn't know what had happened while they were shut down, but it was obvious the pizzeria wasn't as famous as it once was. And for another, they couldn't even be _near_ the children. They had to watch them from afar, not even free to move their heads in the direction they wanted, forced to stand there with a smile permanently glued to their faces. Foxy couldn't even peek out of Pirate Cove to see what was happening. For now, his show was still out of order, and the manager didn't show any intention in allowing him to perform anytime soon.

That night, as usual, they felt their limbs loosen up. Bonnie was the first to move, laying his guitar carefully on the stage before jumping off it.

"Ahh I can move!" he sighed, happily, while stretching. He then spotted a small red light.

Looking up, he saw it came from the camera. He usually messed around with the camera by making faces at it and laugh at his reflection, but it had been a while since he saw that light. If that red light was on, that meant there was someone watching him. The night guard!

"Ohhh we have a night guard again!" he squealed, excited.

Usually, the only company they'd have during the night was Jim, and even he didn't stay that long – he was never around by the time they were free to move.

The bunny turned to his sister, who was rubbing the back of her neck absent-mindedly. "Hey Chica, there's a new night guard! Let's go say 'hi'!"

"Meh you go, Bon," Chica yawned. "I'm heading for the kitchen. Gotta make sure the cooks aren't messing anything up back there. I'll join you in a sec."

Bonnie nodded eagerly and bounced off towards the west hall. He took some time to admire the drawings that children had made, and noticed that while some were new, others had obviously been there a while. Once he reached the office that he knew so well – having spent many nights there keeping Matt some company – he found the door open. Bonnie peeked inside, but decided not to step in without the guard inviting him first. His father had taught him good manners, after all.

There was the night guard! He seemed to be around Matt's age when he first started working at the pizzeria, though Bonnie assumed Matt would be much older now… This new night guard had dark brown hair to his shoulders, and was staring intently at some rectangular object in his hands. Bonnie had never seen that before. Usually Matt kept watch on what was happening by checking the screens, but this new guard seemed to be looking elsewhere, and whatever he was watching, it got him worried.

"Hello!" the bunny greeted.

The guard jumped and shrieked, almost dropping the unfamiliar object. He looked at Bonnie, his eyes very round with fear. "What the hell?!"

"I'm Bonnie. What's your name?" Bonnie was about to wave, when suddenly his view was blocked by something. A loud bang was heard, and Bonnie found himself staring at the door.

He blinked. Did… did the night guard close the door in his face? He pouted, and knocked on the door lightly. "Mr. Night Guard, that was very rude," he scolded. "I just want to talk with you…"

"Go away!" came the scream from inside the office. "Damn you, with your creepy-ass eyes…"

Bonnie gasped. Then he whimpered. "FREDDY!" he cried, running towards the show stage to get some comfort from his older brother. "Freddy, t-the night guard… He said my eyes are c-creepy!"

The bear had heard his wails across the halls. He sniffed, and narrowed his eyes. "How uncivilized. Worry not, Bonnie, I shall have a word with him," he assured, patting the sobbing bunny's head.

The bunny nodded, still pouting. He just wanted to greet the night guard, why did he react like that? Well, he'd just have to keep trying until he realized they were not going to do anything.

"Why don't you go see Foxy in the meantime?" Freddy suggested. "He's always so lonesome, locked up at Pirate Cove. I'm sure _he_ would appreciate the company."

Bonnie nodded, cheering up. "Okay!"

Following Freddy's instructions, Bonnie bounced off towards Pirate Cove. The fox rarely left his home, even at night, when he could go anywhere he wanted. The others had noticed that he was getting more and more reclusive as time went by, and they did not like this new quiet and grumpy version of their brother.

* * *

The night after would mark the beginning of the worst times in the animatronics' lives. They never thought that it could get worse than knowing that five children had died at the pizzeria they loved so much, but it could… It could be so much worse…

Bonnie was, as usual, the first one to leave the stage once midnight struck and their free-roaming mode was activated. The bunny was determined to conduct a normal conversation with the night guard this time. He would be more careful, so not to scare him accidentally. Freddy had failed to get through to him, as he too was met by a closed door once he got near the office. The bear spent the entirety of the night pounding on the door, demanding to be let in, which Bonnie couldn't imagine to have helped the night guard feel any more comfortable with them.

But this time would be different!

He bounced down the west hall, as usual, but once he got to the office, he stopped. He started making slow, steady steps, so he wouldn't surprise the guard. One step… Two steps… Three steps…

 **BANG**

The door was closed.

" _Aww c'mon!"_ the bunny whined in his thoughts. _"I was so careful! Why does he keep closing the…"_

" **it's him"**

Bonnie felt his body paralyze again. His legs, arms and head wouldn't move. Trying to move them was useless – it was like some invisible force prevented him from moving, and it was horrifying. But he was on free-roaming mode! The manager said they wouldn't go back into having their movements controlled until 6 AM!

" _W-what's happening…?"_

" **gEt hIm"**

The bunny suddenly recognized the voice he heard talking in his head. It was the same voice that told him to kill Matt that night when he felt something control him to attack. The voice of the child he let control him…

" _Oh no… No, no, no…"_ he whimpered. _"Please, I don't want to hurt him… He'll hate me, just like Matt…"_

" **CATCH HIM"**

His hands moved against his will, pressing hard against the door. Bonnie was relieved the door was closed. Who knew what would happen if it wasn't?

He looked through the glass, to see if the guard was okay. At least he could control his eyes. The guard was sweating, and cursing under his breath, but other than that, he seemed fine.

But Chica was at the other door, and it looked like she was about to get in. Her expression… Bonnie could tell – she was being controlled just like him. She looked scared, and every step she took seemed like a struggle, as if she was fighting against the spirit that forced her to keep moving on. Bonnie tried to pound on the door to warn the guard, but it was clear the spirit was not going to let him. All he could do was watch, horrified, as the Chica took a final step inside the office, making it impossible for the unsuspecting guard to keep her out.

" _Why am I doing this?"_ Chica screamed in her head. She knew it, she knew it – it was the children! Why were they forcing her to walk into the office? She knew it couldn't be good, the thoughts she had in her mind that did not belong to her made it clear – the child kept screaming at her to "MAKE HIM PAY" but she didn't know what this night guard could have done to get the child so angry.

The guard noticed her presence, but it was too late. Her wings restrained his arms, and no matter how much he kicked and squirmed, it was pointless.

"Agh! Son of a bit – LET GO OF ME!"

Chica felt her legs lead her towards the backroom, and she could only hope that one of her siblings would stop her from doing whatever it was the child wanted her to do. But help never came…

Bonnie couldn't move. The child pinned him to the floor, and all the bunny could do was tremble as he sobbed internally, no sound coming out. Freddy was too paralyzed on stage, his eyes following in absolute horror as Chica picked up the guard above her head. Foxy was still inside Pirate Cove, and it was impossible to tell if he was also being controlled, or if he just didn't know what was going on.

The guard kept fighting for his life, trying to force the chicken's arms off him. "Please! Let go of me! No!"

The purple bunny's feet started moving, but it wasn't his decision as to where he was going.

" _P-please, s-stop… He's s-scared…"_ Bonnie begged, but the child wouldn't answer him. _"I don't want to s-scare people…"_

The guard fought even harder once Bonnie got close to him, and the robot hoped inwardly that the guard would be able to fight them off and get out of there unharmed. Unfortunately, his own strength was going against his wishes, as it was all too easy for him to hold the human in place while Chica reached for an empty suit.

"What the hell are you doing with that?!" the guard shrieked, his voice getting more high-pitched as he panicked. "LET GO OF ME! HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!"

Both chicken and bunny had no idea what the children wanted to do with that suit. They managed to share a look of dread as Bonnie's arms started to force the screaming guard's body into the suit.

" _NO! Please, not that!"_ Bonnie cried. _"That's going to hurt him!"_

" **KILL HIM"**

Bonnie pushed harder. The guard screamed in fear and pain, as deep cuts appeared in his legs, torso and arms. The mechanical parts of the suit were stabbing into him, and blood was flowing out of the wounds and to the floor.

The bunny stared at what he was being forced to do, horrified. He remembered what his father had told him about wounds – and _death_. If a human kept losing blood, the red liquid that came out of humans when they were hurt, then they would die! They would shut down, for good.

" _What are you d-doing?!"_ Chica screamed in her head. _"He's bleeding! You're going to kill him!"_

" **no… YOU are gOing TO kILL HiM"**

Chica's and Bonnie's eyes widened as they realized what was going to happen next.

The guard was no longer just screaming – he was crying as well.

"P-please, l-let me go…! I don't want to die!"

The two robots pushed the guard into the mechanics once more… and the screaming stopped, with a horrible squelch. More blood sprayed into Bonnie's face and hands. The guard went limp, and he didn't struggle anymore.

Bonnie trembled, looking at the guard's dead body. His name tag was on the floor, having fallen amidst the struggle, and was now tinted with red liquid. He killed him… he _killed_ a human… It couldn't be true, it had to be all fake… It had to be another of Foxy's pranks…

"B-Bonnie…" Chica stuttered, having regained control over her body.

The bunny too felt his body loosen up. He looked at Chica, and saw, in her eyes, the confirmation that it wasn't a lie or a prank. His mind was blank. All he knew was that if he could just shut himself down, like Golden Freddy had all those years ago, he probably should do it now.

He covered his eyes and cowered in a corner, shaking uncontrollably. "We killed him… We killed him…" he sobbed.

Chica looked at her wings, now yellow and red, and tried to wipe off the blood on the suit that was in front of her. She had to comfort her brother, even if she too needed comforting. She promised her father that she would watch over him.

"It's alright…" she whispered, hugging him. "It's alright…"

"NO!" he shrieked, sobbing louder than ever. "W-we killed someone… W-we're… we're…!"

"Shh… shh…"

Bonnie tried not to look at the dead guard again, but he just couldn't stop staring. Like he hoped that, at any minute, the guard would "reactivate" and stand back up, annoyed at how dirty and mangled he was now. But he could hear his father's voice telling him: _"Death is permanent… And it happens to every human…"_

He closed his eyes tight, holding on to his sister. Why did the children make them do this? Why would they want to kill others? He didn't understand…

"… **I'm sorry…"**

Bonnie opened his eyes again. Next to the suit was a little girl, looking sadly at the dead guard. He recognized her – she was one of the children that had died in 1977, the birthday girl.

"R-Rika?" Bonnie called. He knew her friends were the spirits that were controlling them, but Rika didn't get bound to any animatronic. The Puppet had the ghosts of the children take control of their bodies, but he remembered Rika didn't join them. The Puppet said she was weak…

Rika looked at Bonnie, and smiled gently. **"Don't cry. It's not your fault,"** she said. Her voice, somehow, managed to calm him down. She kneeled on the floor and picked up the guard's name tag, squeezing it in her hand. **"… It's _my_ fault…" **

And she disappeared, taking the name tag with her.

* * *

The next day, it was as if the attack had never taken place. The robots expected some kind of repercussion for their actions, but it didn't happen.

The janitor cleaned all the blood off, the manager had a long talk with the staff, and it was back to business as usual. Bonnie and the others couldn't understand how they were still going to perform after what happened. Acting cheery and playful around the children now felt horrible, as if they were tricking them into trusting them when they knew that they could do such horrible things. It seemed like the manager had decided that the death of a night guard was something not worth the police's time, as no police officers visited the pizzeria the following days. Another night guard was hired, and the robots couldn't help but fell apprehension regarding their interactions with this new guy during the night.

After the death of the first night guard, the children would have full control as soon as the robots had their free-roaming mode activated. All they could do was watch as they made their way towards the office and continuously tried to break in, the voices of the children ordering them to "punish" the guards. For what, they did not know.

The nights were now something the animatronics dreaded. They knew what would happen once the clock announced midnight. Freddy would rarely be lead out of the stage, usually just doing so if the current night guard lasted for more than three days, which was ridiculously unusual. Thankfully, the majority of guards ended up leaving of their own accord, quitting the job or simply "disappearing", never returning to work without warning anyone. The robots preferred it that way. After four months of fearing the night when they would end up killing again, they thought it would be better if the pizzeria was closed down for good and they were destroyed, like the Toy Bots from 1987. But the manager refused to close down doors.

They had seen Rika a couple of times after that one horrible night. She usually appeared when the night guard was in a jam, warding them off for a while. Most of the night guards made it as far as they did thanks to her intervention. She obviously wasn't as dangerous as her friends, and had no intention on hurting anyone. But she would never talk to the robots, to explain why all of that was happening. That time when she comforted Bonnie was the one time she ever spoke to any of them.

For two years, they had a painful existence, wishing to be destroyed once and for all and hating when night fell, knowing all too well what could happen. In those two years, four more guards died. Some feigned their death so they wouldn't have to return, and those were the lucky ones.

Then, one day, the robots saw someone they had longed for ever since they had been activated. Phil. He was back! They immediately recognized that kind smile, and wished more than ever that they could, just for a minute, be able to have control over their movements so they could hug him. But their hope and joy was destroyed once Lawrence told them the news.

"Alright, guys. You already cost me a lot of them, so you better not do it again," he warned. "You probably recognize this guy right here – Phil Grayson. He'll be the new night guard, and I expect him to stay for a while."

All eight of the animatronics' eyes widened in horror. Would their father be the next person to die at their hands…?


	7. Chapter 7 - Despair

**Disclaimer: I do not own "Five Nights at Freddy's" or its characters.**

* * *

 **8** **th** **November**

The animatronics watched helplessly as another young man made his way towards the show stage. The pizzeria was closed for the day, and the only humans left there were the janitor and the new night guard.

As the young brown-haired man looked up at the robots, they did their best to avoid following him with their eyes – they knew from experience that it tended to freak them out immensely. Not that it would matter; soon enough, this new guard would be terrified of them anyway. Just like the others… Would he end up dead, like the other five? Oh wait… Now, there were _six._

It had been three days since… _that_ happened. They didn't want to think about it. They had seen their father being taken away by the same men in white that took Marize all those years ago… And if he hadn't returned, then he was probably…

" _D-daddy…"_ Bonnie sobbed in his mind. _"I'm sorry… I d-don't want to be a-active anymore… Why can't I d-die too…?"_

The new night guard looked up at them. He was talking with someone over the phone. Freddy read what was written in his name tag: Mike Schmidt.

" _I hope this one leaves soon…_ "he thought. _"I don't want any more young blood in my hands…"_

But he didn't leave. Even though Bonnie was forced to get near his office near the end of the first night, which gave the guard named Mike Schmidt a huge fright judging from his scream, he still returned for a second night.

The night guard passed by the show stage, as he had before, and was startled by the sudden appearance of Jim, the janitor. The old man had the habit to sneak up on people, and the robots couldn't blame Mike Schmidt for bumping into the stage in the hurry to turn around and see who had surprised him. He even threw his keys in the air with the shock.

Bonnie wobbled slightly, the sudden feeling of wanting to laugh almost making him move unwillingly.

Chica, however, was not as amused. The night guard's keys ended up hitting her right in the face.

" _What the – He threw his keys at me!"_ she gasped in her thoughts. _"_ That jerk _threw his keys at me! Oh, if I get to move on my own, I am so going to…"_

She stopped her train of thought quickly. The child that was controlling her could tell what she was thinking. He was going to force her to attack the night guard anyway, and even to try and kill him. He didn't deserve that. None of the night guards did…

That night went by rather smoothly. The robots knew all too well that the children weren't usually that aggressive for the first couple of nights, but it only got worse as the week went by.

Foxy stayed inside Pirate Cove all night, _fortunately_ , he thought. Near the end of the night however, he felt something compelling him to sing the usual pirate-y song he used to teach his mateys back when he was still allowed to interact with them. The child controlling him was telling him to _sing_.

" _Yarr, matey, why ye be wanting me to sing fer the lad?"_ he asked, knowing the child was listening to his every thought.

The answer took its time. But eventually, a young boy's voice told him **"I have to help her"**.

" _Who's 'she', matey?"_

The spirit didn't answer him this time.

Foxy had always felt like the spirit controlling him wasn't as cruel as the others. Two of the children forced Bonnie and Chica to go after the night guards constantly, and they were usually the ones to catch the unfortunate ones who never got to leave in time. The one controlling Freddy was more patient, but seemed to get some sort of sadistic satisfaction out of hearing the night guard panic. In fact, Foxy had heard, several times, the spirit force Freddy to _laugh_ as he approached the night guard, but since the bear was in no mood to find any amusement in the situation, it sounded more like he was crying and laughing at the same time. The spirit controlling the fox, however, rarely got him to move at all. Usually it would only make him watch the camera directed at Pirate Cove, as if he was making sure the night guard was watching him. When Foxy was forced to dash towards the office, it always felt like the child himself had no choice in the matter. As if something else was controlling the child…

* * *

The third night on the new night guard's week was interesting and emotionally tiring. Jim, the janitor, who hadn't talked to them for quite some time, was cleaning the dining hall in front of the show stage as usual when something seemed to catch his attention.

He looked at the animatronics, made a small smile and then walked up to them. "Hello, my dear. Is there something you need?" he asked.

The robots shared a look of confusion. It wasn't midnight yet, so they couldn't talk back to Jim and ask him who he was talking to. They could only control their eyes, which wasn't helping them figure out the answer to their question. As far as they could see, there was no one else there but them and Jim. And Mike, the night guard, who for some reason had gone in the direction of Pirate Cove.

The janitor kept talking to someone apparently only he could see, getting the robots extremely confused. Foxy himself was confused – no night guard had ever visited him before. The new night guard observed the decorations of his lair with a seemingly impressed look, and then closed the curtains once again.

" _Yarr this be a strange lad…"_ Foxy thought to himself. _"Looks sort of familiar too…"_

As the night progressed, the robots could tell something was going on. Chica was the first one to get off stage that night, which wasn't normal. Usually the child controlling Bonnie always got him to move first. Then, the child controlling Foxy got him to start singing way sooner than usual. The fox wondered if this was the boy's way to tell the night guard that, for now, he was safe, since Foxy would not be coming out of Pirate Cove for a while.

And then that giggle…

Bonnie and Chica both heard it, coming from the night guard's office. It certainly wasn't the guard's doing – it sounded like a little girl giggling. Could it be Rika? It had been a long while since they had seen her, and they were beginning to wonder if she was gone for good.

Once both bunny and chicken got to the office, they saw Mike Schmidt was not sitting on his chair anymore. He was up and staring at him, sweating, and the chair was tumbled on the floor as if he had fallen off it. Bonnie ended up capturing the guard once he was distracted with Chica – who was, ironically, trying to warn him about Bonnie –, but luckily they didn't get to kill him.

Someone they didn't expect to see appeared in the west hallway just as Freddy had gotten out a suit for Mike to be stuffed in. Bonnie was shocked, and apparently, so was the child controlling him, as he stopped dead in his tracks.

Golden Freddy. It had been years since he last saw him. But how could he be there? _Standing_? He had shut himself down upon learning of the disappearance of five children. Yet there he was, his empty eye sockets sporting a faint golden glow.

" **IT'S ME"** he thundered.

Bonnie felt like he had been hit by million jolts of electricity. That was… his _father's_ voice. It wasn't Golden Freddy's voice, but Phil Grayson's. The bunny staggered back with the sheer force of the voice, allowing the guard to escape.

Once the guard was safely back at his office, and all the others were back to their usual routine, no more Golden Freddy in sight, Bonnie managed to regain some control over his actions, for a few minutes. He covered his face with his hands, feeling the desperate need to cry. He could not cry though. He had no tears to shed. But the pain he felt, so true and alike the one humans had, was destroying him. That voice that came from the bear, was his father's. Was that a ghost then? His father's ghost, preventing Bonnie from doing to Mike Schmidt the same he had done to him?

When the clock hit 6 AM, Bonnie felt his programming ordering him to get back on stage. But he struggled, making a huge effort to do something he felt like he absolutely needed to do. He just couldn't take it how all those guards looked at him and his siblings with hate and fear in his eyes. He could not speak, but he had learned sign language from his father, and he could only hope this new night guard would understand it, or even care enough to actually bother with it.

" _I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. Please don't hate me,"_ was what he tried telling the guard via sign language.

* * *

The following night, the robots were all forced to hear something they didn't want to. They knew their father had left behind some messages for the next night guard, to help him with the job. But the very last message he left, on the fourth day of his last week, had recorded the last seconds before he was attacked. They couldn't bear to hear it. Bonnie tried desperately to cover his ears, but the child wouldn't let him.

He heard the new night guard mutter something once the message was over. He sounded sad. Did he know his dad? Or was he just sad that the person that had bothered to try and help a stranger was gone?

More than ever, Bonnie and Chica tried their best to fight against the children that controlled them. They rejected their orders the best they could, but the spirit would always overpower their will, and they ended up shaking uncontrollably and banging their heads against the wall. Freddy had long given up on trying to struggle – the child controlling him was clearly much stronger than the others, and _cruel_. Foxy still believed that the child controlling him was on their side, but something compelled him to act as aggressively as the others. If the Puppet was still around, he would have bet his treasure on it, but since it wasn't… Who else could it be?

* * *

The fifth night of the new night guard's arrived, and the robots couldn't help a sense of relief. If he made it past that night, then it would be another two nights before he had to return, if he bothered at all. They couldn't fathom why he was still around in the first place, all the others gave up on the third or second night, provided they lasted long enough. But this new night guard proved to be very different from the others. He actually _talked_ to them.

"Hey, guys," he greeted. He looked tired, but was obviously making an effort to appear at ease. "You know me, right? The guard you've been trying to kill the past five days?"

" _No, it's not us!"_ Bonnie wanted to cry. _"We don't mean it!"_

" _Honestly, what is this guy still doing here?"_ Chica wondered. _"He's got an injured shoulder because of Foxy, he should be at home resting!"_

" _I say, this is one determined young man,"_ Freddy thought. _"I salute his commitment to complete his week, but goodness he should have quit by now, for his own good…"_

"So… I know it isn't your fault," the guard added, surprising them all. "I know something is making you do it. Don't worry, I don't hate you, Bonnie."

Bonnie felt an immense sense of relief. The night guard didn't hate him! He was so happy he would hug him – if he could.

Chica smiled in her mind. This new night guard was comforting Bonnie – that was enough for her to like him. She still needed to get back at him for getting hit by his keys though…

"… This is gonna be my last night here," Mike announced. "I'm not going to come back. There's nothing here for me. I wish I could do something to help you guys fight against whatever's controlling you, but I don't think there's anything I can do…"

" _It's alright, Mr. Schmidt. You really should leave, before we hurt you,"_ Bonnie wanted to say. _"I like you though. We could have been friends…"_

" _Thank God, I hope the kid makes it past this night,"_ Chica sighed inwardly. _"He sure deserves to…"_

" _Yes, that is a wise choice,"_ Freddy agreed. _"This is our problem anyway, so we must deal with it on our own."_

Much to their dismay, Mike Schmidt did not stay true to his word.

He survived the fifth night, and the robots felt relieved – for a while – that he, at least, had managed to get out of there alive. Then, as they were expecting a new face to show up within two days, they see him enter the pizzeria the following day.

He looked even more tired than usual, and carried a frown that was much unlike him.

" _Oh no! W-what is he still doing here? I thought he wasn't going to come back!"_

" _What the – Why did he return? Does the kid have a death wish?"_

" _Goodness this new night guard is ridiculously stubborn! Why in heaven's name did he come back for extra hours? I am starting to question his sense of self-preservation…"_

That night was bound to end with Mike Schmidt's premature death, they were sure of it. He had pushed his luck. Their father had made it for four months because it was _him_. No one else could pull that off.

At 4 AM that night, the power went down. Freddy knew what would follow. He felt himself being dragged by the child in him towards the office, playing the music of the "Toreador March", as a mocking soundtrack for the guards' death. But Mike Schmidt didn't look scared.

He turned to face Freddy and smiled.

"Hey Freddy. Took you long enough."

* * *

 **[A/N - Hello my pretties :3** **If you liked this story, maybe you should check out my other fanfictions of "A Golden Opportunity" series; they are all related and they all tell the story of my AU of FNAF. It will reveal what happened to Phil/Phone Guy and Mike Schmidt and much more!**

 **Thank you for all the faves, follows and reviews! You are all awesome - yes, even you who didn't bother to read this note!** **]**


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